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FRED BURNABY. 

Copyright, 1885, by Harper & Brothers. 




















A EIDE TO KHIVA: 


TRAVELS AND 

ADVENTURES IN CENTRAL ASIA. 


By FEED BUENABY, 

>r 7 

(CAPTAIN ROYAL HORSE GUARDS). 


WITH MAPS AND AN APPENDIX,\ 

CONTAINING, AMONG OTHER INFORMATION, A SERIES OF MARCH- 
ROUTES, COMPILED FROM A RUSSIAN WORK. 



NEW YOEK: 

HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 


FRANKLIN SQUARE. 


\ % \ C \ 
v * 3 \ 




CONTENTS 


Introduction 


Page 11 


CHAPTER I. 

Information about Khiva.—Cold in Russia.—East Wind.—Russian Au¬ 
thorities.—Count Schouvaloff.—General Milutin.—Christianity and Civ¬ 
ilization.—Anglo-Russian Railways in Central Asia.—Preparations for 
the Journey. — The Sleeping Bag. — Cockle’s Pills.—Arms. — Instru¬ 
ments.—Cookery Apparatus... 17 

CHAPTER II. 

Waist-belt for Gold.—A Servant an Incumbrance when Traveling.—Co¬ 
logne.—Russian Diplomatic Agent.—The Novel Newspaper.—The Dis¬ 
raeli Suez Canal Shares.—Baron Reuter.—Strausberg.—Examination of 
Passports and Sleeping-bag.—Railway Traveling in Russia.—Refresh¬ 
ment-rooms.—Russian Disregard of Time.—Officials easily Suborned.— 
St. Petersburg.—Sleigh-drivers.—The Russian Piece in any Theatre.—A 
Russian’s Dislike to his Own Language.—His Contempt for any thing 
purely Russian.—Military Rank at Village Drinking Establishments.— 
Jonka.—Table-d’hote.—Fish Soups.—India and Education.—Agitators. 
—Our Military Attaches very Industrious.—General Kauffmann’s Dislike 
to Publicity.—Mr. Schuyler.—Bismarck and the Russian Language.— 
All have their Price.—Gold an Open Sesame.—Letter to General Milu¬ 
tin.—Count Schouvaloff’s Brother not in St. Petersburg. 24 

CHAPTER III. 

The Volga frozen.—Navigation stopped in the Caspian. — The Russian 
Boundary-line in the East.—Reports are rife in Russia.—The Press is 
gagged.—General Milutin’s Regard for my Safety.—Ignorance of Clerks 
at Railway Station.—Cartridge-case.—Insurgents in Herzegovina.—Sub¬ 
scriptions.—England bent upon Money-making.—Austria allied with En¬ 
gland.—The Baltic Provinces.—The Russians’ Hatred of Austria and 
Germany.—Bismarck’s Policy.—Mr. Leslie, our Consul in Moscow . . 36 

CHAPTER IV. 

Railway Officials.—Unpunctuality of Trains.—Frauds on the Railway Com¬ 
panies.—Old Spirit of Serfdom.—Socialistic and Nihilist Tendencies.-— 






4 


CONTENTS. 


The Emperor Alexander, and the Religious Influence in Russia.—The 
Ecclesiastical Hierarchy more Powerful than the Tzar.—Waiting-rooms 
at Riajsk.—Superstition and Dirt.—Sizeran.Page 43 

CHAPTER V. 

Twenty Degrees below Zero.—Provisions.—Wolves in the Neighborhood.— 
Our Troika.—Driving along the Volga.—Price of Corn.—Bridge being 
built over the River.—The Sterlet.—The Cossacks of the Ural.—How 
to catch Sturgeon.—The Three Kinds of Caviare.48 

CHAPTER VI. 

A Hole in the Ice.—The two Alternatives.—Being Dragged through the 
Water.—Preparing for the Leap.—Price of Land.—Our First Halting- 
place.—Winnowing Corn.—Russian Idols. 54 

CHAPTER VII. 

Pins-and-Needles.—Spoiled Horses.—Driver’s Idea of Distance.—The Halt¬ 
ing-place.—Our Fellow-travelers.—A Devout but Unwashed Peddler.— 
A Glorious Sunrise.—A Bargain is a Bargain. 59 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The Guardian of the Forests.—No Sleigh-bells allowed in the Town.— 
Hotel Anaeff.—A Coffin-shaped Vehicle.—Law about Libel.—Price of 
Provisions at Samara.—Rate of Mortality among the Infantine Popu¬ 
lace.—Podorojnayas, or Road Passports.—The Grumbler’s Book.—Dif¬ 
ference of Opinion between my Horses and the Driver.,. 65 

CHAPTER IX. 

Delayed by a Snow-storm.—Tchin.—Russian Curiosity.—A Conservative 
Inspector.—General Kryjinovsky.—He tells me that I speak Russian.— 
The Interest the Paternal Government takes in my Movements.—Rus¬ 
sia and China.—A Newly-married Sleigh-driver.—A Camel in Love . 71 

CHAPTER X. 

Sleigh Sickness.—A Happy Family.—Orenburg.—Nipping.—Gas from a 
Charcoal Stove.—A Professor of Eastern Languages.—The Chief of the 
Police.—Special Order prohibiting Foreigners from traveling in Turkis- 
tan.—Messrs. MacGahan and Schuyler.—In Search of a Servant.—Friend¬ 
ly Interest Russian Officers take in India.—Exhibition of Maps.—Map 
of Punjaub.—March Routes.—General Bazoulek. ..78 

. CHAPTER XI. 

The Ural Cossacks.—Dissenters.—Two Thousand Five Hundred Men Ban¬ 
ished.—Exiles Flogged.—A Battue. — Reports about General Kauff- 
mann.—The Tzar’s Officers in Turkistan. 85 









CONTENTS. 


5 


CHAPTER XII. 

A Supply of Provisions.—A Grocer’s Shop.—An Elastic Piece of Goods.— 
Schuyler and MacGahan.—A Russian Bank.—Gold and Paper.—Coutts’s 
Circular Notes.—Cox’s Letter of Credit.—What is the Paper Value of a 
Half-imperial ?—Russia on the Verge of Bankruptcy.—A Dinner Party. 
—German Military Railway Carriages.—The Russian Railway Gauge.— 
Christmas-day.—The Chief of the Police.—An Intelligent Thief-catch¬ 
er.—A Podorojnaya.—Arrival of the Prisoner.—“ Women, Women!— 
there were two with him”.Page 91 


CHAPTER XIII. 

A Sheep-skin Suit.—Servant Hunting.—A Tartar Dwarf.—Nazar.—Pack¬ 
ing the Sleigh.—Kirghiz Camels.—Ural Mountains.—Krasnogorsk.— 
Bouran.—Off the Track.—Harness broken.—Driver loses his Way.— 
Nazar Famished.—Keeping Awake under Difficulties.—The Rescue.— 
Nazar’s Culinary Composition.—Benighted Travelers.—The Courier.— 
An Officer and his Wife.—The Doctor.—Bleeding.—Curiosity.—Tropical 
Heat or Extreme Cold, which is the Worst to Bear?. 98 

CHAPTER XIV. 

A Start with the Courier.—Tea-money.—A Breakdown.—The Book for 
Complaints.—Improvement in Scenery.—Trade in Shawls.—An Eastern 
Tale.—Podgornava.—A Precipice.—Oura.—The Inn at Orsk.—A Ba¬ 
sin and a Table Napkin.—A Servant with a Joyful Countenance.—No 
Horses at the Stable.—A Man who has Horses for Hire.—You have a 
Grandmother.—A Blue-eyed Siren. 107 

CHAPTER XV. 

Nomad Tribes.—A Picture of Desolation.—Nazar is worn out.—The In¬ 
spector.—Price of Land, Cattle, and Provisions.—The Cattle-pest.—Vac¬ 
cinating the Animals.—The Kirghiz do not believe in Doctors.—Small¬ 
pox.—Strict Orders to Prevent Englishmen traveling in Russian Asia.— 
The Cost of Post-horses.—Robbing Peter to pay Paul.—Postal Track let 
out to Contractors.—Fort Karabootaok.—Filthy Stations.—Horses want¬ 
ed.— Whipping the Order of the Day. — The Emperor Nicholas. — A 
Snow-storm. — Asleep in the Sleigh.—Frost-bites. — Physical Pain.— 
Mental Agony.—Cossack Soldiers.—Brothers in Misfortune. 116 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Kashgar.—English Officers drilling the Inhabitants.—Yakoob Bek’s En¬ 
voys, —Perfidious Albion.—Tashkent.—Commerce with Bokhara.—A 
Railway to Tashkent.—Irghiz.—A Wolf.—Terekli.—The Boundary-line. 
—How Far does Russia extend?—Uncivil Inspector.—Bottles broken 
by the Frost.—Passengers’ Necks.—Tartar Sleigh-drivers.—A Ruined 






6 


CONTENTS. 


Contractor.—Team of Camels.—Head over Heels in the Snow.—The Kir¬ 
ghiz Horses.—A Hundred Miles’ Hide.—Two Hundred Miles in Twenty- 
four Hours (on two Horses).—Two Extraordinary Marches... .Page 123 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Breakdown! of the Sleigh. — Fresh Vehicles. — The “Scavenger’s Daugh¬ 
ter.”—The Sea of Aral.—A Salt Breeze.—Less Snow.—Christmas-day 
in Russia.—Amorous Females in Search of a Husband.—Supper for 
Tw r o.—Kasala, or Fort Number One.—The Garrison.—The Aral Fleet.— 
The Inn of Morozoff.—Comparisons in Dirt.—In Search of a Lodging. 
—Go w r ith God,Brother.—The Jew r s’ Quarter.—A Commandant... 132 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Hospitality.—An English Engineer Officer at Kasala.—A Russian Scien¬ 
tific Expedition.—Surveying the Oxus.—The Rapidity of the Stream.— 
A Future Fleet.—Transport and Fishing Barges.—Lady Smokers.—Dis¬ 
turbances in Kokan. — The Invalide New spaper.—Abuse of Yakoob 
Bek.—Dinner.—Any Thing you ask for.—Cabbage-soup and Cold Mut¬ 
ton.—Colonel Goloff.—His Residence.—An Assembly.—The Beauty and 
Fashion of Kasala.—Steamers.—Wood instead of Coal.—Great Expense 
to Government.—When w r e Fight you Fellow r s in India.—Zakuski.— 
Russian Linguists.—System of Teaching Languages.—Public Schools in 
England.—Latin and Greek, or French and German.—A Foundation, 
or a Two-storied House. 139 


CHAPTER XIX. 

Ablutions under Difficulties.—The Turkomans.—An Escort Of Cossacks.— 
The Khan and his Executioner.—In Search of Horses.—Provisions for 
the March.—Snow instead of Water.—Exceptional Winter.—Frozen to 
Death.—The Unclean Animal.—Kirghiz Amazons.—Ural Cossacks.— 
Dissenters and the Tzar.—The Towm of Kasala and Fever.—Kibitkas.— 
Mr. MacGahan and the Fair Sex.—A Wife for One Hundred Sheep.— 
The Matrimonial Lottery.—A Russian Officer.—Liquor is the only Thing 
worth living for.—Shadows of War. 147 

CHAPTER XX. 

A Priest.—Only one Wife allowed.—Russian Bread.—The Telegraph in 
Turkistan.—General Milutin might change his Mind.—Horse-dealing.— 
Five Pounds for a Horse, Saddle and Bridle, etc.—A Guide.—The Ex¬ 
pedition to Khiva.—The Russian Troops on the March.—Forty Degrees 
below Zero, Fahrenheit. 156 


CHAPTER XXI. 

Water Route from Kasala to Petro-Alexandrovsk.—The Irkibai Route.— 
The Winter-march Route.—General Perovsky.—His Expedition.—Loss 





CONTENTS. 


7 


of Nine Thousand Camels.—New-year’s-day.—Two out of Ten Cossacks 
Frozen to Death.—Major Wood and the Survey of the Oxus.—Strug¬ 
gling into the Saddle.—Your Horse is Tough.—Ophthalmia.—Cotton 
Bales. — The Mohammedans and the Deity. — Fatalism. — The Will of 
Allah.Page 162 

CHAPTER XXII. 

Camels.—Their Rate of March.—How to divide the Marches.—The Kibit- 
ka.—Better be Cold than Blind.—A Tartar Cook.—The Turkoman’s 
Appetite.—A Khivan Caravan. — Main Road goes to Khiva. — The 
Branch Road to the Fort.—Drinking Tea with the Khivans.—Shelter¬ 
ing the Camels. WO 


CHAPTER XXIII. 

A Lazy Guide.—A Cold Pig.—Insubordination.—How to awake Arabs.— 
Hot Embers better than Cold Water.—Power of Camels to carry Bur¬ 
dens much Exaggerated.—Quickest Road to a Tartar’s Affections.— 
Sores from Frost-bites. 176 


CHAPTER XXIV. 

The Guide’s Retaliation.—Horses’ Nostrils stuffed up with Icicles.—En¬ 
durance of the Horses.—The Brother-in-law’s Horses.—Kalenderhana. 
—A Sudden Thought.—Stchi.—The Women expose their Faces.—The 
Kirghiz Poetry. — Sheep. — A Sign of Manhood in the Bridegroom.— 
Jealous Females. — Feasting. — A Peculiar Pocket. — Games. — Horse¬ 
races.—The Girls and their Admirers.—The Prettiest Girl in the Tribe. 
—A Simple Marriage Ceremony.—But supposing she would not have 
you?. 181 


CHAPTER XXV. 

Disobedience of Orders.—A Lesson.—A Song about a Sheep.—The Im¬ 
portance of a Traveler gauged in Russia by his Furs, in Asia by his 
Retinue.—Worn out.—The Pretty Ice-bearer.—Moon-faced Girls.—Se¬ 
ville. —Gitanas.—Buying a Sheep.—“Fat!”—A Beautiful Butcher.— 
Disillusion.—A Kirghiz Pipe.—Kirghiz Tobacco.—Heart Disease.—Des¬ 
ultory Warfare.—Progress of Russia.—The Sword and the Gibbet.— 
Christianity and the Bible—A Filthy Habit.—Snow for Horses instead 
of Water.—In the Misty Gloom of Awakening Day.—Stretching a Point. 
—We will go to Kalenderhana.—Ootch Ootkool.—Tan Sooloo.—Tooz.— 
A Small Salt Lake. 189 


CHAPTER XXVI. 

The Turkoman on his Donkey.—Jana Darya.—A once Fertile Country. 
—A Barren Waste.—The Grandfather of the Khan.—English Horses 
and Kirghiz Horses.—Russian Cavalry.—A Sea of Molten Gold.—Silver 







8 


CONTENTS. 


Isles. — A Fresh-water Pond. — The Camel-driver is taken III. — The 
Moullahs.—Conjuring the Evil One.—A Dog of an Unbeliever.—The 
Guide’s Fight with the Khivan. — A Revolver is sometimes a Peace¬ 
maker.—Deep Chasms.—The Vision of the Kirghiz.—The Kazan-Tor 
Mountains.—Auriferous Nature of the Soil.Page 198 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

Villages Fortified.—The Turkoman Raids exaggerated.—Peter the Great’s 
Idea about Khiva and India.—Prince Bekovitch.—Careful Preparations 
for the Expedition. — March across the Ust Urt.—Destruction of the 
Russians.—Expedition in 1859.—Chikishlar taken.—Russian Statement 
about the Shah’s Recognition of the Tzar’s Claim to Ashourade.—Rus¬ 
sians Established at Four Points of Turkoman Territory.—The Adayefs. 
—Forced Contributions.—Dissatisfaction.—Letter from the Khan.—The 
Khan’s Letters to the Emperor and to the Viceroy of the Caucasus.— 
The Russian Chancellor’s Perfect Understanding with Mr. Gladstone’s 
Government.—Count Schouvaloff’s Statement to Lord Granville.—Posi¬ 
tive Assurances to Parliament about Khiva.—The Force employed by 
Kauffmann in his Advance upon Khiva.—Capture of Khiva.—Marko- 
soff’s Failure.—War Indemnity.—Treatment of the Turkomans.—Rus¬ 
sian Treaty with Khiva.—Khivan Territory given to Bokhara.207 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

The Guide’s Kibitka.—Why not go to Khiva ?—Domestic Pressure.—Let¬ 
ter to the Khan.—The Moullah.—Kapitan or Polkovnik.—A Letter in 
Russian.—Horse-dealing.—A Horse with one Eye.—Canals from the 
Oxus.—Jougouroo.—The Gray Horse.—A Purchase.. 221 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

The Oozek. — The Oxus. — Khivan Taxation. — The Traders. — Khivan 
Horses.—Salam Aaleikom.—Quarters for the Night.—Hospitality.—A 
Khivan House. —Melons.—Hindoostan and England.—Railways.—An 
Iron Horse.-—Five Hundred Versts in Twenty-four Hours.229 

CHAPTER XXX. 

Oogentch.—The Town.—The Bazaar.—A Barber’s Shop.—Breakfast with 
a Khivan Merchant.—India a Mine of Wealth in the Eyes of the Rus¬ 
sians in Tashkent.—There are Many Roads to India.—A Fort at Merve. 
—Shabbatat Canal.—The Bridge.—The Cemetery.—The Tombs._Fear¬ 
ful Scenes.—The Kazabat Canal.—Shamahoolhoor.—A Sportsman._A 

Breech-loader.—“ The Khan has now no Soldiers.”. 236 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

The Messenger.—Two Khivan Noblemen.—Minarets.—Orchards.—Mul¬ 
berry-trees. — Khiva. — The Fortifications. — The Market-place. — The 







CONTENTS. 


9 


Gallows.—How Murderers are put to Death.—Capital Punishment rare¬ 
ly inflicted.—The Population.—The Schools.—The Khivan’s House.—A 
Bath in Khiva. — The Bathing Establishment. — The Belt which con¬ 
tained my Gold.—The Moullah.—Captain Abbot.—The Khan’s Treas¬ 
urer.—Distinguished Foreigners.—Ink Frozen.Page 245 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

Breakfast in Khiva.—Decorations or Orders.—How to obtain them in Rus¬ 
sia.—The Procession through the Streets.—The Khan’s Palace.—Ef¬ 
feminate Boys dressed a Little like Women.—The Treasury.—Khivan 
Tribute to the Tzar.—The Executioner.—Nazar’s Trepidation.—The Re¬ 
ception Hall.—The Audience.—The Khan.—His Description.—The In¬ 
terpreters.—Englishmen and Germans.—Wyld’s Map.—A Compass.— 
An Infernal Machine.—Afghanistan.—China.—War with Russia.. 253 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

The Present Khan.—The Law of Succession.—The Turkomans and their 
Tribute.—How the Sovereign administers Justice.—The Prison.—The 
Schools.—The Moullahs. — Reading, Writing, and the Koran.—How 
School-masters are remunerated for their Trouble.—Preparations for a 
Start to Bokhara.— L'homme propose , mais Dieu dispose .—A Letter.—It 
must have cost a Large Sum of Money sending that Telegram.—Gen¬ 
eral Milutin.'—Count Schouvaloff’s Brother. — The Bazaar. — The Un¬ 
clean Animal.—A Present from the Khan.—His Hospitality.262 

CHAPTER XXXIY. 

Departure from Khiva.—The Khan’s Brother.—His Rumored Intention of 
visiting St. Petersburg.—The Governor of Anca.—Lord Northbrooke.— 
Herat.—Lahore.—Lucknow.—Calcutta.—Our Soldiers in India.—The 
Cossacks.—Indian Teas.—The Amu Darya.—Lager.—Three Squadrons 
picketed out in the Open.—The Telegram from H.R.H. the Duke of 
Cambridge.—Colonel Ivanoff.—Misunderstanding between Major Wood 
and Colonel Ivanoff.—Atmosphere of Central Asia, and the Colonel’s 
Memory.—Letter to General Kolpakovsky.—Dinner at Ivanoff’s.—Rus¬ 
sia and England. — Court-martial upon the Turkomans. — Turkistan a 
Source of Loss to the Exchequer. — Troops at Petro-Alexandrovsk.— 
Ivanoff would shortly receive his Promotion.—The Russki Mir (Russian 
World ).—Article on the Large Number of German Officers in the Rus¬ 
sian Army. — Marked Antipathy to the Germans. — The New Military 
System in a Transitory State.—Contempt expressed for Austria.—The 
Ladies at Petro-Alexandrovsk. 269 

CHAPTER XXXY.. 

The Meet.—Bokharan and Kirghiz Sportsmen.—A Club-house.—A Ball. 
—The Way of Dancing Quadrilles.—Yalses. — A Mazurka. — Osbalde- 





10 


CONTENTS. 


stone’s Feat. — The Khan’s Treasurer. — An Envoy from the Emir of 
Bokhara. — A Russo - German Scientific Expedition. — Nazar and Iva- 
noff’s Servants.—Captain Yanusheff.—Shurahan.Page 281 

CHAPTER XXXYI. 

The Tarantass.—The Last Adieux.—A Night in the Cold.—The Cossacks: 
their Arms, Weight, etc.—How they Bivouac.—The Emir of Bokhara.— 
The Sentry.—His Punishment.—The Kirghiz Postman.—A Race back 
to Kasala.—Three Hundred and Fifty-nine Miles in Nine Days and Two 
Hours.—Mutiny of the Uralsk Cossacks.—The Tzarevitch.—A Re-en¬ 
forcement of 10,000 Men from Orenburg. 288 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 

The District Governor.—A Cossack Colonel’s Funeral.—The Island in the 
Sea of Aral.—How to join the Amu Darya and Syr Darya Rivers.— 
My Quarters in Morozoff’s Inn.—Letter from General Kolpakovsky.— 
Changing Money.—English Sovereigns.—A Jew and a Greek.— Sym¬ 
pathy between the Russians and the Greeks.—A Rich Young Kirghiz 
Widow.—A Boy-husband.—Cossacks marching from Orenburg.—Na¬ 
zar’s Father-in-law.—Dispatches sent from Tashkent to St. Petersburg 
in Twelve Days. 298 


CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

An Inquisitive Inspector.—The Fortress Afghan.—The Bath in Uralsk.— 
No one washed on a Friday.—Chief of the Police.—A Murderer.—His 
Punishment.—The Ural Cossacks.—Sizeran.—Good-bye to Nazar.. 305 


Appendix A.309 

Appendix B. 327 

Appendix C. 342 









A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


INTRODUCTION. 

A low room, with but little furniture, and that of the sim¬ 
plest kind; a few telegraphic instruments scattered about here 
and there in out-of-the-way corners, and mixed up promiscu¬ 
ously with rifles and wooden boxes, some filled with cartridges, 
others containing provisions for a journey; two or three bot¬ 
tles, labeled “ Quinine,” on a rickety wooden table; several 
men of various nationalities all talking at the same time, and 
a Babel of different languages going on around the writer of 
this work, who was leaning against the window-sill and glan¬ 
cing from time to time at an old number of the Pall Mall 
Gazette. 

The host was a German gentleman, now several thousand 
miles from the fatherland, which he had been induced to leave 
by an offer of the post of superintendent and general manager 
on a long and important line of recently constructed telegraph. 
A graceful girl, with large dark eyes and pearl-white teeth, but 
whose olive complexion and Oriental dress showed that she was 
in no way akin to the fairer beauties of Europe, was engaged 
in handing round small cups of coffee to the most excited talk¬ 
ers of the party—an Italian, Arab, and Englishman—the for¬ 
mer gesticulating wildly in an endeavor to interpret between his 
two companions, who were evidently not at all in accord about 
the subject of conversation. A bright sun, its rays flashing 
down on a broad stream, nearly the color of lapis lazuli, which 
flowed hard by the dwelling, had raised the temperature of the 
room to an almost unbearable heat, though it was the month 



12 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


of February, when in England people are shivering beside their 
fires, or walking in slush or snow. I was at Khartoom, having 
just returned from a visit to Colonel Gordon, Sir Samuel Ba¬ 
ker’s successor, on the White Nile. 

It may seem strange thus to commence the narrative of a 
journey to Central Asia in Central Africa; and yet, had it not 
been for a remark made by one of the men in the low square 
room to which I have just referred, in all probability I should 
never have gone to Khiva. The conversation had lulled; the 
Arab and Englishman having, by means of the Italian, settled 
the knotty point as to whether the son of Albion, an officer late 
in the Khedive’s service, was to receive the salary due to him 
in its entirety or not; the Mohammedan being of opinion that 
the Christian ought to be paid the amount, subject to a deduc¬ 
tion, the native Egyptian officials having always to submit to 
this system of taxation. However, my English friend did not 
see it m this light: he had agreed to serve for a certain sum; 
that sum he must receive; and if the Arab did not pay, why, 
he would complain to the Khedive. This last remark having 
been at length translated to the official, the latter succumbed, 
when my compatriot, the question being settled to his satisfac¬ 
tion, came and looked out of the window by my side. 

It was, indeed, a picturesque scene. The Blue Nile, here 
nearly half a mile from shore to shore, lay smooth and unrip¬ 
pled, like a sea of glass, almost at our feet. On its vast surface 
were barges and native boats innumerable, while many nuggers 
—the huge sailing-barks of the Arabs, and much used by them 
in former years when engaged in the slave-trade—were anchor¬ 
ed here and there. Gangs of workmen, black as ebonv, and 
stripped to the waist, their well-developed muscles standing out 
like knotted cords, were busily engaged unloading a freight of 
ivory bound for Cairo. An enormous saquieh, or water-wheel 
for irrigation purposes, was slowly revolving, put in motion by 
the united exertions of a bullock and a donkey, while the wild 
yells of a negro lad, whose duty it was to goad the animals 
should they ever flag, mingled strangely with the creaking 
sounds of the ponderous wood-work. 

I wonder where we shall all be this time next year,” sud- 


INTRODUCTION. 


13 


denly remarked my companion. “ God knows,” was my an¬ 
swer, “ but I do not think I shall try the White Nile again: if 
I come to Africa another time, I shall select a new line of coun¬ 
try.” At that moment my eye fell upon a paragraph in the 
paper. It was to the effect that the Government at St. Peters¬ 
burg had given an order that no foreigner was to be allowed 
to travel in Russian Asia, and that an Englishman who had re¬ 
cently attempted a journey in that direction had been turned 
back by the authorities. I have, unfortunately for my own in¬ 
terests, from my earliest childhood, had what my old nurse used 
to call a most “ contradictorious ” spirit, and it suddenly oc¬ 
curred to me, Why not go to Central Asia? “Well, I shall 
try it,” was my remark. “What! Timbuctoo?” said my friend. 
“No—Central Asia;” and I showed him the paragraph. “You 
w'ill never get there; they will stop you.” “ They can if they 
like, but I don’t think they will.” And this trifling incident 
was the first thing which put the idea into my head of again 
attempting to reach Khiva. 

I had intended to go there some few years ago, when the 
Russians were about to invade the country, and had even start¬ 
ed on my journey, meaning to try and find a way into Khiva, 
via Persia and Merve, and, if possible, be with the Khivans at 
the time of the Russian attack. But this project was never 
realized, as a typhoid fever, caught as I was rapidly traveling 
through Italy, laid me for four months on a bed of sickness. 
My leave thus was spent in a very different manner from that 
originally intended, and I had, as it is commonly termed, a 
much closer shave for my life than I believe would ever have 
been the case even if I had been taken prisoner by the most 
fanatical Turkomans in Central Asia. But the campaign was 
over, and there would be no fighting to see. Our statesmen 
had learned how to appreciate a Russian’s promises at their 
true value. Samarcand had been annexed to the Tzar’s do¬ 
minions, the Black Sea Treaty had been repudiated, and Rus¬ 
sian troops were quartered in Khivan territory.* 

According to some politicians, Khiva was a long way from 


* See Appendix A—The Russian Advance Eastward. 





14 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


India, and it really did not signify to England whether Russia 
annexed it or not. Again, it was urged by others, if Russia 
does eventually reach our Indian frontier, so much the better 
for England. We shall then have a civilized nation as a neigh¬ 
bor instead of the barbarous Afghans. A third argument 
brought forward to defend the action of that Government, 
which allowed our country’s honor to be trifled with at the ca¬ 
price of a Russian statesman, was that India did not signify so 
much to us, after all—that she was a very expensive possession, 
and one which we should very likely have taken from us, but 
one certainly not worth fighting for; and this was the opinion 
of some men who were high in office, and who thus lightly 
valued one of the brightest jewels in the British crown. The 
majority of our rulers, however, did not trouble their heads 
much about the matter. “ India will last my time,” was the re¬ 
mark ; “ Russia is still a long way off; and our grandchildren 
must look after themselves. Sufficient for the day is the evil 
thereof; and after me the Deluge.” Thus the question was al¬ 
lowed to drop, and the minds of our legislators were speedily 
engrossed in studying the important question as to which would 
be the better course to pursue—to allow Englishmen to go into 
public-houses after eleven o’clock at night, or to send them, 
thirsty and supperless, to bed. 

The following autumn the Carlist war was going on, so I 
went to Spain. After a time my thoughts were no longer oc¬ 
cupied with the state of affairs in Central Asia, and it was only 
when my friend, in reply to my observation, had observed, 
“You will never get there; they will stop you,” that it occur¬ 
red to me to ask what possible reason the Russian Government 
could have for pursuing a line of policy which, easily under 
stood when adopted by a barbarous nation like China, was a 
singular one for even a semi-civilized power. It was the more 
remarkable, as, from the days of Peter the Great, the regener¬ 
ator of Russia, his successors have invariably encouraged the 
inhabitants of Western Europe to visit and freely circulate 
throughout the imperial dominions; and if it were not for the 
German element, which is so largely diffused throughout the 
governing classes, Russia would never have arrived at even her 


INTRODUCTION. 


15 


present state of advancement. Of all the Tzars of Muscovy 
during the last two hundred years, the present emperor is per¬ 
haps the sovereign most keenly alive to the advantage of rais¬ 
ing the standard of civilization throughout his dominions, by 
admitting foreigners, particularly Germans, to every office in 
the empire; and the repressive order to which I have alluded, 
thus absolutely cutting off Asiatic Russia from almost all con¬ 
tact with the more civilized inhabitants of Europe, was in strik¬ 
ing contrast to the line of conduct which had previously char¬ 
acterized his government. 

There was, then, something behind the scenes—something 
that it was desired to hide from the eyes of Europe. 

What could it be? 

Were the generals in Central Asia treating the inhabitants 
of the conquered districts so cruelly, that the fear of this reach-^ 
ing the emperor’s ears—not through Russian sources, as this 
would be impossible, but through the medium of a foreign 
press—was the origin of the order ? Or could it be that though 
no absolute cruelty had been shown to the people in the recent¬ 
ly acquired territory, they were being badly governed, and that 
the bribery and corruption which goes on in Western Russia 
had taken deeper root when transplanted to the far-off East? 
Or was it that the authorities in Turkistan, the enormous terri¬ 
tory acquired by Russia within the last few years, were afraid 
of letting Europe know that instead of having raised the tone 
of morality amidst the inhabitants of Central Asia, the latter 
had in many instances brought the Russians down to their own 
level, and that the vices and depraved habits of the East were 
actually being acquired by some of the conquerors? 

Judging from the accounts* of the few travelers who have 
succeeded in making a way into this comparatively speaking 
unknown country, any of the hypotheses above alluded to 
might have been the origin of the order. But I could not 
help thinking that there was something more behind the scenes 
than the mere wish to blind the eyes of Europe to these mat¬ 
ters, or to appear as the apostles of Christianity—one of the 


* See Appendix B—Report of Mr. Schuyler, etc. 



16 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


pleas put forward by the Russian Press to defend the system 
of annexation so steadily persevered in by the Government. 
There was something beyond all this; and in that something I 
felt convinced that the interests of Great Britain had a share. 
Peter the Great’s will, or rather wishes, have not been forgot¬ 
ten by his successors, and the proof of it is best shown by look¬ 
ing at a map of Russia as it was in his days and as it now ex¬ 
ists ; while in a recent staff map of Turkistan (1875), the com¬ 
piler has not even dotted in the boundary-line from N. lat. 
39° 2', E. long. 69° 38', to N. lat. 44° 40', E. long. 79° 49|': 
thus showing that the boundary-line, in his opinion, has not 
yet been reached. When will that limit be attained? When 
is the Russian advance to be barred, and where—by the Hima¬ 
layas, or by the Indian Ocean ? This is a question, not for our 
grandchildren, nor our children, but for ourselves. 


THE KIRGHIZ DESERT. 


17 


CHAPTER I. 

Information about Khiya.—Cold in Russia.—East Wind.—Russian Au¬ 
thorities.—Count Schouvaloff.—General Milutin.—Christianity and Civ¬ 
ilization.—Anglo-Russian Railways in Central Asia.—Preparations for 
the Journey. — The Sleeping Bag. — Cockle’s Pills.—Arms. — Instru¬ 
ments.—Cookery Apparatus. 

Having once resolved to go to Central Asia, the next ques¬ 
tion was how to execute my intention, and, on returning to 
England from Africa, I eagerly read every book that could be 
found, and which seemed likely to give any information about 
the country which I proposed to visit. Vambery’s “Travels,” 
Abbott’s “ From Herat to Khiva,” and MacGalian’s “ Cam¬ 
paigning on the Oxus,” were each in turn studied, and, judging 
by the difficulties that the gallant correspondent of the New 
York Herald had to overcome before he carried his project of 
reaching Khiva into execution, I felt convinced that the task I 
had laid out for myself was any thing but an easy one. . 

The time of year in which I should have to attempt the 
journey was another obstacle to the undertaking, for my leave 
of absence from my regiment would only commence in Decem¬ 
ber. I had already, in previous journeys through Russia, dis¬ 
covered what the term “ cold ” really means in that country, 
and, judging from the weather experienced by Captain Abbott 
when traveling in the month of March, in a latitude a good 
deal to the south of that which seemed to me the most practi¬ 
cable, I felt convinced that careful preparations must be made 
for a ride through the steppes in mid-winter, or that I should 
inevitably be frozen. The cold of the Kirghiz desert is a thing 
unknown, I believe, in any other part of the world, or even in 
the arctic regions. An enormous expanse of flat country, ex¬ 
tending for hundreds of miles, and devoid of every thing save 
snow and salt lakes, and here and there saksaool , a species of 


18 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


bramble - tree, would have to be traversed on horseback ere 
Khiva could be reached. The winds in those parts of Asia are 
unknown to the inhabitants of Europe, who, when they grum¬ 
ble at the so-called east wind, can little imagine what that wind 
is like in those countries which lie exposed to the full fury of 
its first onslaught. For there you meet with no warm ocean 
to mollify its rigor, no trees, no rising land, no hills or mount¬ 
ains to check it in its course, and it blows on uninterruptedly 
over a vast snow and salt covered track, until, absorbing the 
saline matter, it cuts the faces of those exposed to its gusts 
with a sensation more like the application of the edge of a ra¬ 
zor than any thing else to which it can be likened. 

There was, besides this, something else to be taken into con¬ 
sideration. I was well aware that no assistance could be ex¬ 
pected from the Russian authorities, who might not content 
themselves by indirectly throwing obstacles in my way, but 
might even stop me by sheer force if they found all other ways 
fail. The account of the prohibitory order which I had seen 
published in the Pall Mall Gazette was, I had every reason to 
believe, correct; and should I not find, after crossing the Ural 
River, and entering Asia, that my long sleigh journey had been 
all to no purpose, and have to retrace my steps through Euro¬ 
pean Russia? These were my first impressions on arriving in 
England; but on talking the matter over with some Russians 
of my acquaintance, they assured me that I was entirely mis¬ 
taken ; that, on the contrary, the authorities at St. Petersburg 
would readily permit English officers to travel in Central Asia ; 
and it was observed that the order to which I had alluded re¬ 
ferred only to merchants or people who tried to smuggle con¬ 
traband goods into the recently annexed Khanates. 

A few months later I had the honor of making the acquaint¬ 
ance of his Excellency Count Schouvaloff, the Russian embassa¬ 
dor in London, and formerly the head of the secret police at 
St. Petersburg. He was excessively kind, and promised to do 
what he could to further my plans; but in an answer to a 
straightforward question as to whether I should be permitted 
to travel in Russian Asia or not, his reply was, “ My dear sir, 
that is a subject about which I can not give you any answer; 


CHRISTIANITY AND CIVILIZATION. 


19 


but on arriving at St. Petersburg the authorities there will be 
able to afford you every possible information.” It was a diplo¬ 
matic answer—one which bound the count to nothing, and I 
went away charmed with the tact and affability of the Russian 
embassador. Apparently there was nothing to be learned offi¬ 
cially from Russian sources; but unofficially, and one by one, 
many little bits of information crept out. I now first learned 
that General Milutin, the Minister of War at St. Petersburg, 
was personally very opposed to the idea of an English officer 
traveling in Central Asia, particularly in that part which lies 
between the boundaries of British India and Russia. Accord¬ 
ing to him, a Russian traveler, a Mr. Pachino, had not been well 
treated by the authorities in India, and this gentleman had not 
been permitted to enter Afghanistan; and, in consequence, 
General Milutin did not see why he should allow an English¬ 
man to do what was denied to a Russian subject. 

Another peculiarity, which I remarked in several Russians 
whose acquaintance I at that time had the honor of making, it 
may here be not out of place to mention. This was their de¬ 
sire to impress upon my mind the great advantage it would be 
for England to have a civilized neighbor like Russia on her 
Indian frontier; and when I did not take the trouble to dis¬ 
sent from their views—for it is a w r aste of breath to argue with 
Russians about this question—how eager they were for me to 
impress their line of thought upon the circle of people with 
whom I was the more immediately connected. Of course, the 
arguments brought forward were based upon purely philan¬ 
thropic motives, upon Christianity and civilization. They said 
that the two great powers ought to go together hand in glove; 
that there ought to be railways all through Asia, formed by 
Anglo - Russian companies; that Russia and England had ev¬ 
ery sympathy in common which should unite them; that they 
both hated Germany and loved France; that England and Rus¬ 
sia could conquer the world, and so on. 

It was a line of reasoning delightfully Russian; and though 
I was not so rude as to differ from my would-be persuaders, 
and lent an attentive ear to all their eloquence, I could not 
help thinking that the mutual sympathy between England and 


20 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


Germany is much greater than that between England and 
Russia; that the Greek faith, as practiced by the lower orders 
in Russia, is pure paganism in comparison with the Protestant 
religion which exists in Prussia and Great Britain; that Ger¬ 
many and Great Britain are natural allies against Russia, or 
any other power aggressively disposed toward them; that Ger¬ 
mans and Englishmen who are well acquainted with Russia, 
understand by the term “ Russian civilization ” something dia¬ 
metrically opposite to what is attributed to it by those people 
who form their ideas of Muscovite progress from the few Rus¬ 
sians whom they meet abroad ; and that the Honduras Railway 
would be a paying concern to its English share-holders in com¬ 
parison with an Anglo-Russian line, to be constructed in Cen¬ 
tral Asia with English capital and Russian directors. 

The time was wearing on, November was drawing to a close, 
my leave of absence would begin on the first of the following 
month, and on that day I must commence my travels. Prep¬ 
arations were rapidly made. Under the advice of Captain 
Allen Young, of arctic fame, I ordered a huge water-proof, 
and, consequently, air-proof, bag of prepared sail-cloth. The 
bag was seven feet and a half long, and ten feet round. A 
large aperture was left on one side, and the traveler could thus 
take up his quarters inside, and sleep well protected from the 
cold winds. The bag would also be useful in many other 
w T ays; and I found it of great convenience for every purpose 
save the one for which it was originally intended. The man¬ 
ufacturer, not calculating on the enormous dimensions an in¬ 
dividual assumes when enveloped in furs, had not made the 
aperture large enough, and the consequence was that the diffi¬ 
culties, when I attempted to take a header into the recess of my 
sleeping-apartment, were almost insurmountable; and only on 
one occasion, and when clad somewhat more lightly than usual, 
I succeeded in effecting an entrance. Four pairs of the thick¬ 
est Scotch fishing stockings were also ordered, and jerseys and 
flannel shirts of a texture to which people in this country are 
but little accustomed. Then came a suit of clothes, made by 
Messrs. Kino, of Regent Street, and in which they assured me 
it would be impossible to feel cold. The clothes, I must admit, 


cockle’s pills. 


21 


were exceptionally well made, and well suited to be worn un¬ 
der a sheep-skin attire; but I can not wish my worst enemy 
a greater punishment than forcing him to sleep out on the 
steppes in winter-time with mere cloth attire, no matter how 
thick. Fur or skins of some kind must be worn, or, without 
this precaution, the traveler, should he once close his eyes, will 
undergo a great risk of never opening them again. Two pairs 
of boots lined with fur were also taken; and for physic—with 
which it is as well to be supplied when traveling in out-of-the- 
way places—some quinine, and Cockle’s pills, the latter a most 
invaluable medicine, and one which I have used on the natives 
of Central Africa with the greatest possible success. In fact, 
the marvelous effects produced upon the mind and body of an 
Arab sheik, who was impervious to all native medicines, when 
I administered to him five Cockle’s pills, will never fade from 
my memory; and a friend of mine, who passed through the 
same district many months afterward, informed me that my 
fame as a “ medicine-man ” had not died out, but that the mar¬ 
velous cure was even then a theme of conversation in the ba¬ 
zaar. 

So far as I could learn from the books which related to Cen¬ 
tral Asia, there would be but little game, and nothing particular 
in the shape of sport; so I determined not to take a rifle, when 
the cartridges would have considerably added to the weight of 
my luggage, the prime object being to travel as light as pos¬ 
sible. However, as it was as well to have some sort of a gun 
in the event of falling in with wild fowl, which I had been told 
abounded in some places, I took a favorite old No. 12 small¬ 
bore, and some cartridges made up with No. 5 shot and ball, in 
the event of falling in with any bears or wolves; while a regu¬ 
lation revolver, with about twenty cartridges, made up my de¬ 
fensive arsenal in the event of an attack from the Turkomans. 

The next thing to be thought of was a cooking apparatus; 
and if I had taken the advice of many kind friends, I should 
have traveled with a batterie de cuisine sufficient for the wants 
of M. Soyer himself. But canteens could not be thought of 
for a moment, on account of the extra weight, so I limited my¬ 
self to two soldiers’ mess tins; and admirable little utensils 


22 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


they are too, whether for cooking over a spirit-lamp or on a 
fire, and far superior to any of the more costly and cumber¬ 
some articles especially invented to get out of order and per¬ 
plex the traveler. A trooper’s hold-all, with its accompanying 
knife, fork, and spoon, completed my kit; and with a ther¬ 
mometer, barometer, and pocket sextant by way of instruments, 
I was ready to start. Even this amount of luggage was much 
more than was desirable; and when placing the baggage for 
my journey—consisting of the sleeping-sack, a pair of saddle¬ 
bags, railway bag, and gun — into the scales, I found that it 
weighed exactly eighty-five pounds. An officer in the Foot- 

guards, my friend K-, wished very much to accompany me 

in my journey; and he would have been a most cheery and 
agreeable companion, as he was accustomed to travel, and capa¬ 
ble of roughing it to any amount; but as he was ignorant of 
Russian, and by this time I was thoroughly aware of the dif¬ 
ficulties that would most likely be thrown in my way, and of 
the little chance I had of getting to Khiva alone, I was com¬ 
pelled at the last moment, to my great reluctance, to decline 
his proposal.* 

The day before my departure from London I received a very 
courteous letter from Count Schouvaloff, in which he said that, 
as I was provided with letters to General Milutin, the Russian 
Minister of War, and to General Kauffmann, the commander-in¬ 
chief of the forces in the Government of Turkistan, it only re¬ 
mained for him to give me a letter of introduction to his broth¬ 
er at St. Petersburg, and to wish me godspeed on my journey. 
He also added that he had sent off a dispatch to the Minister 
of Foreign Affairs at St. Petersburg, asking him to do every 
thing he could to aid me in my proposed journey. And so, at 
the last moment, I began to flatter myself things looked a little 
brighter; but some observations from Mr. MacGahan, whose ac¬ 
quaintance I was so fortunate as to make at the house of a mut¬ 
ual friend, a few evenings previous to my departure, made me 


* K-was determined not to be idle during his leave, and, as he could 

not go with me to Russia, went, by way of a change, to Abyssinia, where, I 
believe, he had some interesting adventures. 






VALUABLE HINTS GIVEN. 


23 


still rather doubtful of success. “ You will get on very well 
as far as Fort Number One,” had been the remark ; “ and then 
you will have to pull yourself together and make your rush, 
and again in the same way when you leave Russian territory 
for India; but it is to be done, though the odds are rather 
against you.” He had also given me some valuable hints 
about acquiring a knowledge of the Tartar language, and trav¬ 
eling as light as possible.* 


* To Mr. MacGahan, and subsequently to Mr. Schuyler, First Secretary 
at the Russian Embassy at St. Petersburg, I am greatly indebted for much 
valuable information with reference to my route. 



24 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


CHAPTER II. 

Waist-belt for Gold.—A Servant an Incumbrance when Traveling.—Co¬ 
logne.—Russian Diplomatic Agent.—The Nord Newspaper.—The Dis¬ 
raeli Suez Canal Shares.—Baron Reuter.—Strausberg.—Examination of 
Passports and Sleeping-bag.—Railway Traveling in Russia.—Refresh¬ 
ment-rooms.—Russian Disregard of .Time.—Officials easily Suborned.— 
St. Petersburg.—Sleigh-drivers.—The Russian Piece in any Theatre.—A 
Russian’s Dislike to his Own Language.—His Contempt for any thing 
purely Russian.—Military Rank at Village Drinking Establishments.— 
Jonka.—Table-d’hote.—Fish Soups.—India and Education.—Agitators. 
—Our Military Attaches very Industrious.—General Kauffmann’s Dislike 
to Publicity.—Mr. Schuyler.—Bismarck and the Russian Language.— 
All have their Price.—Gold an Open Sesame.—Letter to General Milu- 
tin.—Count Schouvaloff’s Brother not in St. Petersburg. 

The 30th of November, 1875, broke cold and damp. It 
was one of those disagreeable days that depress and lower the 
barometer of the human spirit to a semi-despondent level; but 
I had finished all 1113 ^ regimental duty, and having provided 
myself at Thornhill’s with a strong waist-belt to contain the 
amount of gold I thought necessary for my journey, and which, 
b)^-the-way, was a most uncomfortable bed-fellow, I drove to the 
Victoria Station, to start by the night mail. 

I had determined not to take a servant—they are general^ 
in the way, unless they know something of the country travel¬ 
ed in: under other conditions, master and man have to change 
places. I must say, however, that I was sorry to leave behind 
my faithful fellow. He had been with me in several parts of 
the world, and w r as able to make himself understood by signs 
and the few broken words of the language he might pick up, 
in a manner to me quite incomprehensible; but Russian mou- 
jiki (peasants) and Tartar camel-drivers would have been too 
much even for him. Besides, he was a married man, and I did 
not wish to be saddled with his wife and family in the event 
of a disaster. 


A RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC AGENT. 


25 


Our iron horse galloped merrily over the distance between 
London and Dover. The passage to Ostend was a favorable 
one ; and the following afternoon at 4 p.m. I found myself once 
again in the familiar old station of Cologne. 

Two or three hours’ delay waiting for the night express to 
Berlin, and once more en route. The capital of the empire was 
reached the following morning, but I had no time to stop, much 
as I should have liked to visit the many well-loved old nooks 
and corners familiar to me in my student days. As it was, I 
could barely catch the train for St. Petersburg, when I found 
the carriages very much overcrowded, and with difficulty se¬ 
cured a place. 

Two Russian gentlemen were in the same carriage; and in 
the course of conversation I found that one had been employed 
in the diplomatic service in Italy. He said that he had sud¬ 
denly received a telegram from Prince Gortschakoff, at that 
time at Berlin, requiring his presence there immediately. The 
clothes worn in Italy, even in winter, are not necessarily of the 
warmest texture ; and my fellow-traveler, who, by-the-way, look¬ 
ed in very delicate health, found his journey northward any 
thing but a pleasant one. But his troubles, on arriving at the 
capital, were only beginning, for the prince said to him, “ I am 
going to St. Petersburg, and will give you your orders there: 
leave by the next train.” It was very cold weather; and the 
unfortunate secretary, unprovided with the necessary wraps, 
was miserable at the way the fates had served him. He was 
an Anglopliobist, and much chuckled as he told his companion 
that a violent article against England had appeared in the Nord 
—a paper which, according to him, is inspired by the ministry 
at St. Petersburg—with reference to Mr. Disraeli having pur¬ 
chased the Viceroy of Egypt’s Suez Canal shares. 

“The English are a great nation, but very mad,” observed 
another Russian. “ They are sufficiently sane when their inter¬ 
ests are concerned,” said the secretary, “ for they have bought 
these Suez shares, which they will make pay, financially as well 
as politically speaking. Two years ago they nearly inveigled 
the Shah into a treaty with Baron Reuter, and that would have 
given them the control of the whole of Persia; but, thank 


26 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


goodness, our people checkmated them there, and I do not 
think England will try that game on again just at present; as 
to Strausberg, he is a joke to that fellow, Reuter. A nice bus¬ 
iness the latter would have made out of it, and the English 
too, for the matter of that.” 

The day wore away, and the night came on cold and bleak, 
as we rattled northward on our course. The secretary sat shiv¬ 
ering in the corner, and the rest of us, enveloped in furs, sought 
the arms of Morpheus. It was an unusual thing to experience 
such cold in a North German railway-carriage, as generally they 
are well warmed by means of stoves, and the more frequent 
fault to find with them is overheating and stuffiness; but, for 
some reason or other, the stupid attendant had let the fire out, 
and the result was any thing but an agreeable night. Present¬ 
ly we reached the boundary limit between Germany and Rus¬ 
sia, when, a few minutes later, I found myself, with the rest of 
the passengers, in a large high hall, set aside for the examina¬ 
tion of luggage and inspection of passports. 

It was not a pleasant thing to be kept waiting in a cold 
room for at least three-quarters of an hour, while some specta¬ 
cled officials suspiciously conned each passport. The Russian 
secretary himself was not at all impressed with the wisdom of 
his Government in still adhering to this system, which is so 
especiallv invented to annoy travelers. “ What nonsense it is!” 
he remarked; “ the greater scoundrel a man is, the greater cer¬ 
tainty of his passport being in the most perfect order. When¬ 
ever I go to France, and am asked for my passport, I avoid the 
difficulty by saying, ‘ Je suis Anglais; no passportand the 
officials, taking me for an Englishman, do not bother me, or 
make me show it.” 

I was myself a little uneasy about my own pass, as it was 
one which had done service about five years previously, and I 
had forgotten to send it to the Russian Consulate previous’ to 
my departure from London. However, after looking at the 
document for some time, and scrutinizing its owmer very care¬ 
fully, the official returned it to me. 

The customs examination was easily got through, and the 
only part of my luggage which puzzled the douane officer was 


RAILWAY TRAVELING. 


27 


the sleeping-bag. He smelled it suspiciously, the water-proof 
cloth having a strong odor. “What is it for?” “To sleep 
in.” He put his nose down again, and, apparently uncertain in 
his own mind as to what course to pursue, called for another 
official, who desired me to unroll it. “ And you sleep in that 
big bag?” was the question. “Yes.” “What extraordinary 
people the English are!” observed the man who had inspected 
my passport, and, sotto voce , “He must be mad,” when the 
other by-standers drew back a little, thinking that possibly I 
was dangerous as well. 

Forward again, in a most commodious and well-arranged car¬ 
riage—well warmed, fairly lighted, and containing every con¬ 
venience the traveler could require during the journey. The 
Russian trains are constructed on the American principle, and 
you can walk from one end to the other, if you like, while two 
attendants in each carriage supply every want of the traveler. 
I must say that in this respect railway traveling in Russia is 
far better arranged than in England, and the refreshment-rooms 
are unequaled by any in this country. Every thing you ask 
for is ready at a moment’s notice; the dishes are hot and good, 
while the attendance and the bill—a very important adjunct to 
a traveler’s pleasure—leave nothing to be desired, the charges 
being exceedingly moderate. But, with all these advantages, 
there is one great drawback, and that is the slowness of the 
pace, which, when traveling through a vast country like Russia, 
is a matter of considerable importance. Extreme cold would 
seem to have the same effect upon the human mind as extreme 
heat; and the indifference to time which characterizes the Rus¬ 
sian is only equaled by the low estimation in which it is held 
by the Spaniard ; while the word zavtra and manana , the “ to¬ 
morrow ” in the two languages, is used as frequently by the 
Muscovite as by the inhabitant of the Peninsula. But there is 
something else which may account for the slowness of pace of 
the trains in Russia, and that is the careless way in which the 
lines have been constructed. The Government inspectors, by 
all accounts, are easily suborned. The golden metal has charms 
for them greater than the lives of their countrymen; and if 
the engines were to attempt even a moderate rate of speed, the 


28 


A RIDE TO KIIIVA. 


sleepers and rails would inevitably give way. Such was the ex¬ 
planation given me by a fellow-traveler, when referring to this 
subject. 

St. Petersburg was at last reached, the journey having been 
accomplished in three days and a half from Charing Cross. I 
had but little delay in obtaining my luggage, for in this respect 
things are well managed in the Russian stations, and I shortly 
found myself comfortably ensconced in Demout’s Hotel. The 
day was still young; and determining to take advantage of the 
early hour, I took a sleigh and proceeded to call upon General 
Milutin, the Minister of War. 

The foreigner unaccustomed to St. Petersburg is at first a 
little astonished at the way he is beset, on leaving the portico 
of his hotel, by the numerous sleigh-drivers who are congrega¬ 
ted outside. “ Where to ? where to ?” they cry: when, hearing 
the stranger stammer out the name of the street, and the name 
of the person to whom the house belongs—for in Russia, as a 
rule, houses are known by the name of their proprietors, and 
are not numbered, as elsewhere — a brisk competition ensues- 
“ I will take you for a ruble, sir. Look what a beautiful 
sleigh I have, and what a fine trotting - horse!” “He knows 
nothing about it!” shouts another; “ I will take the gentleman 
for sixty copecks!” and his face assumes an expression as if by 
his offer he had conferred on you a favor unequaled in the an¬ 
nals of sleigh-drivers. The other fellows then wait a few sec¬ 
onds to see if the stranger will succumb to the offer; but if 
not, and you walk forward two or three steps, the drivers 
change their tone from sixty to forty, and from that to twenty 
copecks (about sixpence in English money), this being about 
the value of an average “ course ” in St. Petersburg, for there 
is no established tariff; and the result is that foreigners are 
more robbed by the sleigh-drivers in that city than even by our 
London cabmen. 

General Milutin was not at home, so I was informed by a 
tall Swiss, the hall porter, when, leaving the letter of introduc¬ 
tion and my card, I returned to the hotel. There was no Rus¬ 
sian piece going on in any of the theatres that evening, al¬ 
though there were French and German plays, besides an Italian 


CONTEMPT FOR ANY THING PURELY RUSSIAN. 


29 . 


opera. In St. Petersburg there is one capital Russian theatre, 
the Alexandrensky, and also a national opera-house, the Ma- 
rinsky ; but the Alexandrensky is often used for German plays, 
and thus it sometimes occurs, as on the day when I arrived, 
that there is no performance going on in the national idiom in 
any theatre in the capital; but, after all, this can be easily ex¬ 
plained by the intense dislike many apparently well-educated 
Russians have to their own language. I have often heard them 
say, “ It does very well for the moujiki [peasants], but the lan¬ 
guage for society is French and these remarks have been 
uttered by Russians from the provinces of the interior, whose 
knowledge of French was so imperfect, and their accent so 
atrocious, that it jarred on the ear when listening to them. 
There is no doubt that there is an intense contempt among the 
higher circles throughout the empire for every thing purely 
Russian : it must be foreign, to be eagerly sought after. This 
weakness on the part of the well-to-do classes has a very dis¬ 
couraging effect on the industries of the nation. It would 
rather surprise people in this country if an Englishman were 
to address his wife in a foreign language, and if the correspond¬ 
ence between members of the same family w y ere never carried 
on in English; or should the daughter of the house be unable 
to write a letter, save in French, without making the most out¬ 
rageous faults in grammar as well as spelling. But this sur¬ 
prises no one in Russia. There is not that love of every thing 
national amidst the higher classes; and to study the real Russ 
you must not visit St. Petersburg; for there the native is so 
veneered over with foreign polish, that it is impossible to dis¬ 
cover what exists below the surface; and a French fencing- 
master is infinitely preferred to a Russian Socrates. The pres¬ 
ent emperor, it is said, has done every thing in his power to 
check this weakness on the part of his subjects, for he is a far- 
seeing man, and the empire owes more to his beneficent rule 
than to any of his predecessors; but a deep-rooted custom can 
not be ousted in one generation, and it will take many years to 
teach the inhabitants of the capital that this running after ev¬ 
ery thing foreign, to the detriment of national enterprise, will 
never add to the prosperity of Russia. Another influence which 


30 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


has a deterrent effect on the development of the commercial 
and agricultural interest throughout the country is the high im¬ 
portance given to military rank: as a Russian country gentle¬ 
man once bitterly remarked to me, “In my country a man is 
nobody unless he eats the bread of the State. He must wear a 
uniform, he must have a tchin —military rank—or its equivalent, 
should he serve in the civil service. He must be a consumer 
instead of a producer; and then, and then alone, is he a man to 
be respected and looked up to.” The result is, that all the en¬ 
ergies of the nation are expended in what will never bring grist 
to the mill; but, if this system be persisted in, it will eventual¬ 
ly cause a national bankruptcy. 

As I was reading a Russian newspaper that evening, I came 
upon a short paragraph, which so eminently characterizes the 
weakness for strong liquors which prevails throughout the em¬ 
pire that I am tempted to reproduce it. 

It appeared that in a certain large village a spirit merchant 
wished to open a drinking establishment; to do this, he had 
to obtain the consent of the inhabitants. It was determined to 
put up to auction the right of establishing a house of that sort, 
which fetched the sum of 3500 rubles; and this, divided among 
the population, made exactly rubles a head. 

The money was paid, and, according to the correspondent, 
the proprietor must have got back the amount he had given in 
the first three days, as unusual drunkenness prevailed during all 
that time, when, the money being spent, things once more took 
their usual course. 

Drunkenness is not looked upon with nearly the same feel¬ 
ings of abhorrence in Russia as in England, among the military 
class especially; and an officer who can drink all his comrades 
under the table is looked upon as a hero. The climate undoubt¬ 
edly has a great deal to do with these ovations to Bacchus; and 
when the thermometer is below zero, the body requires much 
more caloric, both externally as well as internally, than in more 
temperate zones. 

The Russian officers, by way of thoroughly keeping out the 
cold, have invented a singular drink. They call it jonka. Aft¬ 
er dinner, and when Champagne, claret, and liquors have been 


31 


RUSSIAN TABLE-d’hoTE. 

drunk to an extent of which, people in this country have no 
conception, a huge silver bowl is produced; brandy, rum, spirits, 
and wines of all kinds are poured in promiscuously; apples and 
pears, with all the fruits on the dessert-table, are cut up and 
tossed into the liquid, which is then set on fire, and when in 
this state the flaming mixture is poured out into large goblets, 
which are handed round the table. It is a high trial if the 
drinking-bout has been persisted in for several hours, and it is 
one calculated to try the stomachs as well as the heads of the 
guests; but we are in Russia, et a la guerre comme a la guerre ; 
and until this excess of drinking goes somewhat out of fashion 
with the upper circles, we can not be surprised if the lower ones 
remain equally addicted to it. 

That evening I dined at the table-d'hote, a comparatively 
speaking new institution in Russia, where to dine a la carte is 
generally preferred. For any one not accustomed to them, 
Russian dinners are somewhat remarkable. Previously to sit¬ 
ting down at table, the guests are taken to a side buffet; here 
in profusion are sardines, caviare pressed and fresh—a delicacy 
unknown in this country, where the so-called fresh caviare is in¬ 
variably a little salted—anchovies, and every conceivable relish ; 
cigarettes are now smoked, a glass or so of liquor drank, and 
the party adjourns to the dinner-table. Here, with the soup, 
little pates , made of meat and rice, are eaten in lieu of bread. 
The soups, particularly those made of fish, such as the sterlet, 
are excellent, and well suited to a Russian climate, where an 
enormous quantity of nitrogen must be consumed to keep up 
the animal heat. 

I found myself seated next to a Russian officer, a general in 
the Engineers, and had a long conversation with him about In¬ 
dia. “You English,” he said, “are always thinking that we 
want India; but you are apt to forget one equally important 
point, which is, that some day the natives of that country may 
wish to govern themselves. I study the course of events in 
India very closely; and what do I see ? why, that you are do¬ 
ing every thing you possibly can to teach the inhabitants their 
own strength. You establish schools; you educate the peo¬ 
ple ; they read your language—many of them even your news- 


32 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


papers; and the leading men know what is going on in Europe 
just as well as you yourselves. But the day will come when 
some agitators will set these thinking masses in motion; and 
then what force have you to oppose to them ? If ever there 
was a nation determined to commit suicide, it is England. She 
holds India, as she herself allows, by the force of arms; and yet 
she is doing every thing in her power to induce the conquered 
country to throw off the yoke. 

“ But do you not think,” I observed, “ that when our front¬ 
iers touch, as your statesmen wish, there will be more agitators 
than even now in India?” 

He did not reply to this question, but lighted a cigarette and 
turned the conversation. There was a great deal of reason un¬ 
doubtedly in what he had urged. However, there is one argu¬ 
ment in favor of further education in India, which is, that the 
better educated the natives of India become, the greater proba¬ 
bility of their seeing that their own interests are far more like¬ 
ly to be cared for under a British than a Russian rule. But 
this still leaves open the question of whether they might not 
prefer to govern themselves, which undoubtedly will some day 
be the case. 

I remember once meeting a highly educated Hindoo on board 
a Peninsular and Oriental steamer, and having a long conversa¬ 
tion with him. He had traveled in England, where he had been 
extremely well received; and on my asking how the English 
were liked in India, he simply replied, “ You are a great nation, 
and no people are more devoted to their own institutions than 
the English. How should you like a foreign ruler to establish 
himself in your country ?” 

The following day I called at the British Embassy, but there 
was no one at home save the military attache, and he was so 
engaged in having a lesson that he had no time to see me. 
Later on in the day I met some old friends, and conversed with 
them about my proposed journey. They all took a pessimist 
view of the case. “Get to Khiva!” said one man. “You 
might as well try to get to the moon. The Russians will not 
openly stop you, but they will put the screw upon our own 
Foreign Office, and force the latter to do it. Why, the Rus- 


THE ENGLISH SERVANT ALARMED. 


33 


sians are as suspicious as Orientals, and they will imagine you 
are sent by your Government to stir up the Khivans. They 
will never believe that an officer, for the mere sake of travel, 
and at his own expense, would go to Khiva.” “Why,” ob¬ 
served another, “ only a short time ago an officer who was 
about to start for Turkistan wanted to take an English servant 
with him. The man, I believe, had been a private in the Sec¬ 
ond Life - guards: somehow or other, this got to the ears of a 
Russian general. He sent for the servant, and said, ‘ Did you 
ever correspond for the Times V The man, who looked upon 
the question as one put to prove his capabilities, answered, 
‘ Never did, sir; but have no doubt I could, if you wish it.’ 
‘ I tell you what it is,’ said the general, ‘ if I catch you writing 
a line to England about what you see when you are with us, I 
will have you hanged.’ The man became alarmed. He could 
clean a horse, and his ideas did not soar above that calling; 
but to be told that he was to be hanged if he wrote a letter! 
Why, he might want to write home to his friends! And he 
went to some authorities at St. Petersburg, and asked them 
their advice. The result was, he started with his master, but 
only got as far as Kazan; for, on arriving at that point, an or¬ 
der was sent to have him turned back.” 

The Russian soldiers, it seems, are not very particular what 
they do in Central Asia, and General Kauffmann greatly dis¬ 
likes publicity. Judging from accounts subsequently given me 
by eye-witnesses of what has taken place, I can not help think¬ 
ing that the general is wise in his generation. 

In the afternoon I called upon Mr. Schuyler, the United 
States Secretary of Legation at St. Petersburg. He had been 
to Tashkent and Bokhara, having traveled as far as Fort Num¬ 
ber One with Mr. MacGahan, the energetic correspondent of the 
New YorJc Herald. Mr. Schuyler had been able to gather a 
great deal of most valuable information in the course of his 
travels. He is the only diplomate the Russians have ever per¬ 
mitted to visit their Eastern possessions, and is a very keen ob¬ 
server, besides being a thorough master of the Russian lan¬ 
guage. He had been able to dive considerably below the sur¬ 
face, in his endeavors to master the state of affairs in Turkis- 

2 * 


34 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


tan. His report was forwarded to Washington, and subse¬ 
quently published in a blue-book; the authorities in Turkistan 
not being very pleased at the way be exposed their adminis¬ 
tration. Mr. Schuyler gave me some very valuable bints as to 
what I should require, and was himself engaged in writing a 
book on bis travels. From the first day of bis arrival at St. 
Petersburg be bad studied bard to master the Russian lan¬ 
guage, probably feeling that a diplomate in a land where be 
can not read the newspapers, or converse with all classes of so¬ 
ciety, if necessary, is rather like a fish out of water, and receiv¬ 
ing a salary which be has not fairly earned. 

The German chancellor showed what be thought of this mat¬ 
ter ; for the very first thing be did, many years ago, when at the 
Russian Embassy in St. Petersburg, was to study the Russian 
language, which be eventually mastered. Bismarck’s example 
is not a bad one to follow; but until the language be made a 
compulsory one at the examination of candidates for our Foreign 
Office, I fear that the business of the British Embassy at St. Pe¬ 
tersburg will continue to be transacted through an interpreter. 

Later on I called upon Count SchouvalofFs brother, to whom 
the count bad so kindly given me a letter of introduction; but 
be was abroad, so I was informed by the servant, and conse¬ 
quently the letter was of no use. 

I began to be a little anxious about the letter which I bad 
left at the house of General Milutin, the Minister of War, par¬ 
ticularly as I bad omitted to fee his hall porter—a great omis¬ 
sion on my part, as I was informed by an Englishman, an old 
resident at St. Petersburg; and be added, “ Nothing whatever 
can be done in Russia without a judicious disposal of presents, 
from the ball porters to the mistress of the minister, wdio gives 
out the railway contracts. All have their price, and you will 
find gold, or rather its equivalent in ruble paper, an open sesa¬ 
me throughout the Russian Empire.” 

I must say that, for my part, I did not share this opinion 
about the porter’s venality. However, as I bad written to ask 
the general if I could have the honor of an interview, and no 
reply bad been sent, I determined to write another letter 
which was couched in the following terms: 


LETTER TO GENERAL MILUTIN. 


35 


To General Milutin , the Minister of War. 

Sir, —I trust that you will pardon the liberty I am taking in writing to 
you without having the honor of your personal acquaintance. 

I wish to have the permission to go to India, via Khiva, Merve, Kabul. 
But as I had read in some English papers, previous to my departure from 
London, that the Russian Government has issued an order forbidding En¬ 
glishmen to travel in Russian Asia, I thought that I ought to address my¬ 
self to Count Schouvaloff, the Russian embassador in London. He said to 
me, “ I can not personally answer your question; but when you arrive at 
St. Petersburg, the authorities there will give you every information.” Be¬ 
fore I quitted London, I received a letter from Count Schouvaloff inform¬ 
ing me that he had written officially to the Minister of Foreign Affairs at 
St. Petersburg with reference to my journey, while the count inclosed me a 
letter of introduction to his brother, and concluded by wishing me a hap¬ 
py journey. Now, sir, I should much like to know if I can have this per¬ 
mission. If it can not be granted me, will you do me the honor of writ¬ 
ing two lines and tell me frankly, Yes or No. If the answer is No, I shall 
leave St. Petersburg immediately, because my leave of absence will soon 
be over, and I do not wish to remain here longer than it is necessary to 
receive your answer. I have the honor to be, etc. 

Having dispatched this letter, I began to be a little easier in 
my mind. I did not think that the general, who, by all ac¬ 
counts, is a most gentleman-like man, would purposely delay 
replying to my note; nor was I wrong in my surmises. In 
the mean time I was trying to get all the information I could 
about the route to Khiva. 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


;g 


CHAPTER III. 

The Volga frozen. — Navigation stopped in the Caspian. — The Russian 
Boundary-line in the East.—Reports are rife in Russia.—The Press is 
gagged.—General Milutin’s Regard for my Safety.—Ignorance of Clerks 
at Railway Station.—Cartridge-case.—Insurgents in Herzegovina.—Sub¬ 
scriptions.—England bent upon Money-making.—Austria allied with En¬ 
gland.—The Baltic Provinces.—The Russians’ Hatred of Austria and 
Germany.—Bismarck’s Policy.—Mr. Leslie, our Consul in Moscow. 

Mr. Schuyler thought that the best way to go to Khiva 
would be by Astrakhan and the Caspian to Krasnovodsk, and 
from there across the steppes on horseback to Khiva. This, 
undoubtedly, would have been the shortest and easiest journey; 
but a paragraph which I read in a paper that afternoon showed 
me that this route was out of the question. The paragraph 
was to the effect that the accumulation of ice had already 
prevented navigation in the Caspian, and that the Volga was 
frozen. 

I tried to get some information from a few Russian officers 
whose acquaintance I accidentally made, but all to no effect. 
They did not know themselves. They believed that there was 
a post to Khiva, and that the Tartars had carried letters there 
on horseback; but whether from Orenburg or from Tashkent 
no one knew. 

I now determined, should the reply to my letters to General 
Milutin be in the affirmative, to go down to Orenburg and seek 
for further information in that town. In the event of General 
Milutin’s answer being in the negative, I had made up my mind 
to go straight to Persia, and then, skirting the Russian bounda¬ 
ry-line, pass via Merve and Bokhara to India. 

It would have been an interesting journey, though very diffi¬ 
cult to know the exact boundary-line in some parts; for, as I 
have noticed before in the last Russian staff map of Turkistan, 
dated 1875, the boundary-line, extending over a large tract of 


THE PRESS GAGGED. 


37 


country, is not marked by a dotted line, as in other parts of the 
map; thus showing that there is a doubt in the mind of the 
officer by whom it was compiled as to how far Russia extends 
in that direction. 

All sorts of reports were circulating with-reference to Gener¬ 
al Kauffmann, the Governor-general of Turkistan—some to the 
effect that he had sent in his resignation. Again, it was said 
that he had only received a jewel-mounted sword in return for 
his services, and that one of his subordinates had been similarly 
rewarded. One thing, however, seemed very certain, which was, 
that the general had left Tashkent, and was on his road to St. 
Petersburg; but whether on account of the recent disturbances 
in Kokan, or for General Milutin to consult him with reference 
to a farther advance upon Kashgar, were mooted points, and to 
which no one could give an answer. In fact, there is no coun¬ 
try, perhaps, in the universe where reports are so rife as in Rus¬ 
sia. The press is gagged, owing to the strict system of censor¬ 
ship which prevails ; and the result is that gossip runs rampant, 
each man embellishing the story he has heard from his neigh¬ 
bors, when it eventually acquires greater dimensions, if possible, 
than that of the three black crows so happily told by Smollett. 

The letter to General Milutin produced the effect I anticipa¬ 
ted, and the result was a reply, directed, singularly enough, to 
the British Embassy, although I had in my own letter distinct¬ 
ly written my address as Demout’s Hotel. The communication 
was to the effect that the commandants in Russian Asia had 
received orders to aid me in my journey through the territory 
under their command; but that the Imperial Government could 
not give its acquiescence to the extension of my journey be¬ 
yond Russian territory, as the authorities could not answer for 
the security or the lives of travelers beyond the extent of the 
emperor’s dominions. 

Now this was so self-evident a statement that I was much 
surprised at General Milutin for making it. Of course, the 
Russian Government could not be responsible for my safety be¬ 
yond the emperor’s dominions, any more than could Her Maj¬ 
esty’s Government be responsible for the life of a traveler pass¬ 
ing through Natal to Central Africa. 


38 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


✓ 

Merve and Herat no more belong to the Emperor of Russia 
than Central Africa to the Queen of Great Britain; then how 
xould the Imperial Government at St. Petersburg imagine it¬ 
self liable for any thing happening to me outside Russian ter¬ 
ritory ? 

There were only two inferences to be drawn from the letter 
—either that the general, who is by all accounts a most kind- 
hearted man, valued my life at a greater price than I did my¬ 
self—which was exceedingly amiable on his part—or that, for 
certain military and political reasons, he did not wish me to go 
to Central Asia. 

I must say that I was very much surprised at the way he en¬ 
deavored to deter me ; and Russian officers must be very differ¬ 
ent to English ones, if the mere fact of there being a little risk 
is sufficient to stop their traveling. 

I should have much liked to ask General Milutin one ques¬ 
tion, and to have heard his answer—not given solemnly, as the 
Russian chancellor makes his promises, but face to face, and 
as a soldier: Would he, when a captain, have turned his face 
homeward to St. Petersburg simply because he was told by a 
foreign government that it could not be responsible for his 
safety ? I do not think so; and I have a far higher opinion 
of the Russian officers than to imagine that they would be 
deterred by such an argument, if used to them under circum¬ 
stances similar to those in which I found myself. 

However, there was the letter in black and white. The only 
thing left for me to do was to write and thank the general for 
permitting me to travel in Russian Asia, adding in a final post¬ 
script that I should probably return either by Tashkent or Te¬ 
heran ; my intention being to go from Khiva to Merve, and 
so on to Meshed, when I should have been in Persian territo¬ 
ry. I could have then gone via Herat and the Bolan pass to 
Shikarpoor, and returned either through Cachemire, Kashgar, 
and Tashkent, or by Kabul, Bokhara, and Kasala to European 
Russia. 

The final preparations for the journey were soon made; all 
my superfluous clothes sent back to England; a pair of high 
cloth boots, commonly known as valenki, bought to keep out 


SOLICITING SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR INSURGENTS. 39 

the cold; and the following evening at 8 p.m. I found myself at 
the railway station, en route for Orenburg. A marvelous igno¬ 
rance seemed to exist amidst the clerks at the booking-office 
when I asked them how far the line extended in the direction 
of that town. Did it go to Samara ? No. Could I take my 
ticket to Orenburg? No. Well, how far could I book? None 
of them could tell me; so, taking a ticket as far as Penza, 
which I knew was on the line, I proceeded to register my lug¬ 
gage. 

The box containing my cartridges struck the attention of 
an official who was standing beside the scales; and “Pray what 
may this be?” he observed, looking suspiciously at the case. 
“ It is very heavy.” 

He was quite right; cartridges are heavy, and the four hun¬ 
dred which made up my ammunition—and which traveled to 
Khiva and back again—were often a source of great annoy¬ 
ance to myself as well as my camels. 

“They are little things which contain some lead,” I an¬ 
swered. “Oh! instruments which contain lead,” he said. 
“Yes,” I replied; “very useful instruments; pray be careful 
with them.” Upon which he gave me the receipt. 

The carriages between St. Petersburg and Moscow are, if 
possible, more commodious than those which run from the 
capital to the German frontier. They are also well supplied 
with sleeping compartments; so the journey can be performed 
as comfortably as if traveling in a Cunard’s steamboat. 

Upon taking my seat, two ladies, dressed in the deepest 
black, entered the carriage and solicited subscriptions from the 
different passengers for the wounded insurgents in Herzego¬ 
vina. 

“ I suppose some of this money will go to the maintenance 
of the hale as well as the sick,” observed a fellow-traveler. 
“ Poor fellows, they want arms very badly.” 

“ I would give any thing to drive out those Mussulmans,” 
remarked his companion, producing a well-filled purse, and 
making a large donation to the fund. 

His example was followed by all the other Russians in the 
carriage; and, not wishing to appear conspicuous by not sub- 


40 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


scribing, I added a trifle, my vis-a-vis saying, “ Thank yon, 
brother — it will help to keep the sore open: the sooner the 
Turk falls to pieces, the better. What is the good of our hav¬ 
ing a fleet on the Black Sea unless we can command the Dar- 
danelles? And the longer this affair continues in Herzegovina, 
the more likely we are to reach Constantinople.” 

“What will the English say to this?” I inquired. “Oh, 
England! she goes for nothing now,” he replied. “ She is so 
bent upon money-making that it will take a great deal of kick¬ 
ing to make her fight. Why, she did not do any thing when 
Gortschakoff repudiated the Black Sea treaty.” 

“He [Gortschakoff] chose the right time for this,” added a 
fellow-traveler: “ it was just after Sedan.” 

“After Sedan or before Sedan,” continued the first speaker, 
“ it would have been all the same. England is like an overfed 
bull: she has lost the use of her horns.” 

“What of her fleet?” I inquired. “Well, what can she do 
with it ?” was the answer. “ She can block up the Baltic— 
but the frost does that for six months in the year; and she 
can prevent the corn from our Southern provinces reaching 
her own markets: bread will be dearer in London, that is all. 
England will not land troops in the Crimea again.” 

“ God grant that she may,” said another; “ our railway to 
Sevastopol is now open.” 

I here remarked that England was not likely to declare war 
without having an ally. “But what if Germany or Austria 
were to join her?” 

“As for those pigs of Germans, we must fight them some 
day or other,” replied the previous speaker; “ and when the 
Tzarevitch is emperor, please God we will beat them well, and 
drive every German brute out of Russia: they fatten on our 
land at the expense of our brothers.” 

“ But supposing they get the best of it ?” 

“Well, what can they do? They can not stop in Russia, 
even if they should be able to assail us. We can play the old 
game; keep on retiring. Russia is big, and there is plenty of 
country at our back.” 

“ They might take the Baltic provinces,” I remarked. 


bismarck’s policy. 


41 


6 

“ Take them ! I hope Gortscbakoff will give them to Bis¬ 
marck before long, and arrange that Germany does not inter¬ 
fere with us when we march upon Constantinople,” said anoth¬ 
er of the travelers. 

“Arrange with Bismarck! You might as well arrange with 
the devil!” said the first speaker. “ He will take every thing 
he can, and give us nothing. He is the greatest enemy we 
have—except, perhaps, the people at Vienna! However, they 
do not count for much; as, with the Gzechs and Hungarians, 
they have plenty on their hands: but we must give those Aus¬ 
trians a beating* before long:.” 

“Which would be most popular — a war with Austria, or 
one with Germany?” I inquired. 

“ With Austria,” was the unanimous reply; “ because we 
know that we can march to Vienna without any difficulty. 
We are not prepared for Germany; our army is not yet suffi¬ 
ciently organized to compete with Moltke’s forces. We must 
bide our time. Besides this, the emperor likes his uncle too 
much. When the Tzarevitch is on the throne, then we shall 
have a war. Bismarck, too, does not want to fight at present. 
He would like to see Russia fight England, Austria, and Tur¬ 
key. The old fox would sit still himself, and do nothing. 
But if we got the best of Austria, he would take Vienna and 
Holland as his share of the spoil, and as a reward for his exer¬ 
tions ; while, if we were beaten, he would take the Baltic prov¬ 
inces. But perhaps you are a German,” said one of the trav¬ 
elers. “No, I am an Englishman,” was my answer, “ and I am 
very much obliged to you for this interesting conversation.” 

Moscow was reached early the following morning; when, find¬ 
ing that there would be no train till the afternoon to Penza, I 
took a sleigh, and drove to call on Her Majesty’s consul, a Mr. 
Leslie, whose acquaintance I had made during a previous visit 
to Moscow. His post is a purely honorary one, but perhaps in 
no other consulate in Europe is so much hospitality shown to 
Englishmen. Mr. Leslie, from his long residence in Russia, is 
well acquainted with the character of the people with whom 
he has to deal, and is a very valuable member of our Foreign 
Office. 


42 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


4 

Moscow, with its wide streets, its long distances from one 
part of the city to another, its world-renowned Kremlin, the 
palaces of its nobles, embracing vast suites of apartments, par¬ 
quet floors, and almost Oriental magnificence, has so often been 
described by travelers that I will not trouble my reader with a 
description. If I were to do so, it would be the account of 
what I had seen during previous visits, and not the experiences 
of my present journey. As it was, I had barely time to pay a 
rapid visit to my friends at the consulate, drink a glass of tea 
in the Moscow Traktir, and hear a well-remembered tune from 
the old organ in that time-honored restaurant, when I was once 
more dashing through the streets to the station, my half-drunk¬ 
en Jehu shouting out at the top of his voice, “ Beregi , beregi /” 
(take care). He generally contrived to utter the warning 
sound just after he had driven into the sleigh of some fellow- 
Jeliu, who, in return for the collision, used that peculiar class 
of language which is not confined to Russian drivers, but is 
frequently made use of by cabmen in our London streets. 


FRAUDS ON THE RAILWAY COMPANIES. 


43 


CHAPTER IV. 

Railway Officials.—Unpunctuality of Trains.—Frauds on the Railway Com¬ 
panies.—Old Spirit of Serfdom.—Socialistic and Nihilist Tendencies.— 
The Emperor Alexander, and the Religious Influence in Russia.—The 
Ecclesiastical Hierarchy more Powerful than the Tzar.—Waiting-rooms 
at Riajsk.—Superstition and Dirt.—Sizeran. 

On the track again, but this time alone in my compartment 
till I was joined by an official whose business it was to inspect 
the line between Moscow and Riazan. His chief object was 
to find out if any unnecessary delays took place at the differ¬ 
ent stations on this railway, a number of complaints having 
been lately made about the unpunctuality of the trains. It 
was supposed to be the station-master’s fault, and that these 
officials, being slack in the performance of their duty, were the 
main cause of the delay. “ I could easily find them out,” re¬ 
marked the inspector, “ if it were not for the confounded tele¬ 
graph, but that beats me; for the rogues are all in collusion the 
one with the other, and as soon as ever they see me on the 
platform they telegraph the intelligence to their brethren down 
the line.” 

It appeared that there used formerly to be a great deal of 
fraud committed on the railway companies in Russia by the 
guards of the trains, who would ask a passenger, when about 
to take his ticket at the booking-office, “What class are you 
going by?” If by the first or second, the guard w r ould say, 
“Take a third-class ticket; give me a few rubles, and I will 
let you go first class, as I am guard of the train by which you 
will travel.” But, according to the inspector, this system of 
roguery has now been put down, and the result is a better re¬ 
turn on the railway capital, although up to the present time 
the lines have been any thing but remunerative to investors. 
From the inspector I found out that I ought to have taken my 
ticket to Sizeran, which was the terminus of the line in the 


44 


A RIDE TO KI1IVA. 


direction of Orenburg, but that it was too late now to pay the 
difference, and that I must wait till we arrived at Penza, when 
I should just have time to get a new ticket, and re-label my 
luggage. 

It was a bitterly cold night, in spite of all our furs; and at 
Riazan, where it was necessary to wait an hour, and to change 
trains, a fellow-traveler, a Russian nobleman, who had got into 
the carriage at an intermediate station, was very indignant with 
the stoker whose business it was to keep up the fire, and re¬ 
peatedly called him a son of an animal, the culprit trembling 
and crying out as if he were under the lash of a whip. 

It will take a good many more years to thoroughly elimi¬ 
nate the old spirit of serfdom in Russia, although the law has 
long ceased to exist, and the men who have been brought up as 
slaves find it difficult to get rid of a feeling of awe when they 
are in the presence of their superiors. Perhaps it is as well 
that things follow on in this groove, for it would be a bitter 
day for Russia should the socialistic and Nihilist tendencies 
which are being developed in her larger towns become extend- 
ed amidst her rural population. At the present moment the 
love for the emperor predominates over every feeling but one 
amidst the peasantry; and this devotion to their Father, as he 
is termed, is well deserved, for the Emperor Alexander under¬ 
went an enormous personal risk when, at one stroke of the 
pen, he did away with slavery in his dominions. It was a step 
which required great moral courage on the part of its origina¬ 
tor, and few emperors would have risked mortally offending 
the upper classes of the country, even to do an act of justice to 
the lower. 

Probably the only influence which could be brought to bear 
upon a peasant’s mind, to such an extent that I believe it would 
counterbalance his affection for the Tzar, is the religious one. 
In perhaps no country in the world has this element so power¬ 
ful a sway as in Russia. In religion, coupled with superstition, 
lay a power which could even thwart the wishes of the Emper¬ 
or Nicholas himself; and the ecclesiastical hierarchy is certain¬ 
ly more powerful than the Tzar. Hitherto the two dominant 
influences have gone hand in glove together; and it is as well 


WAITING-ROOMS AT RIAJSK. 


45 


that it should he so, for any rupture between them would in¬ 
evitably lead to a revolution. 

In the waiting-room at Riajsk waiters were hurrying about 
with glasses of scalding tea, which were eagerly called for by 
the traveler. In fact, the amount of this beverage that a Rus¬ 
sian can drink is somewhat astonishing- to the stranger; and 
the traditional washer-woman of our country, whose capabili¬ 
ties in this respect are supposed to be unrivaled, would have 
no chance whatever if pitted against a subject of the Tzar. A 
large samovar (a brass urn) stood on the refreshment-table, the 
water being kept to boiling-point, not by a spirit-lamp, as in 
England, but by a funnel, which fitted into the centre of the 
urn, &nd was filled with red-hot charcoal. Economy was evi¬ 
dently the order of the day with some of the travelers; for, in¬ 
stead of putting the sugar in their glasses, they would take a 
lump in their mouths, and thus sweeten the scalding draught. 

I took advantage of our delay at Riajsk, and walked through 
the other waiting-rooms. These were crammed with third- 
class passengers. It was a strange sight to see the mixture of 
different nationalities, which, huddled together like sheep, lay 
in different attitudes on the floor. Here a Tartar merchant, 
his head covered with a small yellow fez, while a long party- 
colored gown and pair of high boots completed his attire, was 
fast asleep in a corner. A woman, her face covered with a 
thick white veil, lay folded in his arms; while a child, envel¬ 
oped in a bundle of rags, was playing with the fur cap of its 
parent. Next to them a man, whose peculiarly shaped nose 
showed a distinct relationship to the tribe of Israel, was breath¬ 
ing hard.through his nasal organ. From time to time he 
clutched convulsively at a small leather bag, which, half hidden 
beneath a greasy-looking black coat, was, even in his dreams, a 
source of anxiety. Peasants in every posture, their well-knit 
frames clad in untanned leather, which was tightly girt about 
their loins with narrow leather belts studded with buttons of 
brass and silver, re-echoed the Hebrew’s melody. An old Bo¬ 
kharan in flowing robes sat listlessly, with his legs twisted up 
under him, beside the stove. He appeared to be under the in¬ 
fluence of opium, and was possibly dreaming of celestial houris 


46 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


and bliss to come; while a smart-looking lad—perhaps his son, 
judging from the likeness between them — had withdrawn a 
little from the rest of the throng, apparently not very well 
pleased by his vicinity to the Russian peasants. 

The Mohammedans of Central Asia have certainly one great 
advantage over the moujik, and that is in their love for water; 
indeed, if the Russian peasant could only be persuaded to be a 
little more particular in his ablutions, it would be conducive, 
if not to his own comfort, at least to that of his fellow-travel¬ 
ers. Superstition and dirt are twin brothers in Russia; and I 
have frequently observed that the more particular a peasant is 
in his adoration of the various idols ( obrazye ) which are promi¬ 
nently displayed on the threshold of every cottage, the more 
utterly he is forgetful of the advantages of soap and water. 

At Penza I had barely time to secure another ticket on to 
Sizeran, where my railway traveling would terminate, and pres¬ 
ently found myself in a large saloon carriage. Here almost ev¬ 
ery seat was taken, and the porters had piled upon them some 
railway bags and parcels belonging to passengers traveling in 
another carriage. These articles had been put in while the 
owners were in the waiting-rooms, the object being to dimin¬ 
ish the length of the train. This was attained, but at the cost 
of considerable discomfort to the travelers, who were eagerly 
searching for their lost property by the dim light of a smoky 
tallow-dip. 

In the course of conversation with one of the party, a tall 
and very stout middle-aged man, I discovered that my shortest 
route to Orenburg would be through Samara. He said that 
he was going to the last-mentioned town, and proposed that 
we should hire a troika —a three-horse sleigh—and travel to¬ 
gether. I readily embraced the offer, when after a few hours’ 
more traveling we stepped out on the platform of the station 
at Sizeran. Here my companion was evidently well known, 
for the railway officials and porters respectfully saluted him, 
and hastened to bring our luggage to the waiting-room. I 
must say that I was surprised to find so good a refreshment- 
room so far from the capital, as, with but very short halts for 
the purpose of changing trains, we had been traveling for more 


SIZERAN. 


47 


than sixty hours, and all this time in the direction of Asia, on 
nearing which you expect at each stride to leave civilization 
farther and farther in your wake. But the buffet at Sizeran 
left nothing to be desired; and in a very short time as good a 
breakfast was supplied as could be obtained in any French res¬ 
taurant. 

We now had to think over the preparations for our sleigh 
journey, and after a little bargaining my companion made ar¬ 
rangements with a farmer in the neighborhood to supply us 
with a sleigh and relays of horses as far as Samara. The dis¬ 
tance is about eighty-five miles, and there is no regular govern¬ 
ment postal station between the two towns. 


48 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


CHAPTER V. 

Twenty Degrees below Zero.—Provisions.—Wolves in the Neighborhood.—• 
Our Troika.—Driving along the Volga.—Price of Corn.—Bridge being 
built over the River.—The Sterlet.—The Cossacks of the Ural.—How 
to catch Sturgeon.—The Three Kinds of Caviare. 

“You had better put on plenty of clothes,” was the friendly 
caution I received from my companion as I entered the dress¬ 
ing-room, “ for the thermometer marks twenty degrees below 
zero, Reaumur, and there is a wind.” People in this country 
who have never experienced a Russian winter have little idea of 
the difference even a slight breeze makes when the mercury 
stands low in the thermometer, for the wind then cuts through 
you, furs and all, and penetrates to the very bones. Determin¬ 
ing to be on my guard against the frost, I dressed myself, as I 
thought, as warmly as possible, and so as to be utterly imper¬ 
vious to the elements. 

First came three pairs of the thickest stockings, drawn up 
high above the knee, and over them a pair of fur-lined low 
shoes, which in their turn were inserted into leather galoches, 
my limbs being finally deposited in a pair of enormous cloth 
boots, the latter reaching up to the thigh. Previously I had 
put on some extra thick drawers and a pair of trousers, the 
astonishment of the foreman of Messrs. Kino’s establishment, 
“ Lord love you, sir,” being his remark when I tried them on, 
“ no cold can get through them trousers, anyhow!” I must 
confess that I rather chuckled as my legs assumed herculean 
proportions, and I thought that I should have a good laugh at 
the wind, no matter how cutting it might be; but gEolus had 
the laugh on his side before the journey was over. A heavy 
flannel under-shirt, and shirt covered by a thick wadded waist¬ 
coat and coat, encased my body, which was further enveloped 
in a huge shuba, or fur pelisse reaching to the heels, while my 
head was protected with a fur cap and vashlik, a sort of cloth 


PROVISIONS FOR THE JOURNEY. 


49 


head-piece of a conical shape made to cover the cap, and hav- 
. ino- two long ends which tie round the throat. 

Being thus accoutred in all my armor, I sallied forth to join 
my companion, who, an enormous man naturally, now seemed 
a very Colossus of Rhodes in his own winter attire. How peo¬ 
ple would have laughed if they could have seen us in Piccadil¬ 
ly in our costumes! “ I think you will do,” said my friend, 

scanning me well over; “ but you will find your feet get very 
cold, for all that. It takes a day or so to get used to this 
sleigh traveling; and, though I am only going a little beyond 
Samara, I shall be uncommonly glad when my journey is over.” 

He was buckling on his revolver; and as we were informed 
that there were a great many wolves in the neighborhood, I 
tried to do the same; but this was an impossibility; the man 
who made the belt had never foreseen the gigantic proportions 
my waist would assume when clad in this Russian garb. I 
was obliged to give it up in despair, and contented myself by 
strapping the weapon outside my saddle-bags. 

For provisions for possibly a thirty-six hours’ journey, and 
as nothing could be bought to eat on the road, I provided my¬ 
self with some cutlets and chicken, which fitted capitally into 
the mess tins, while my companion agreed to furnish the tea 
and bread, the former an article without which no true Russian 
will ever travel. He had not much baggage with him, and my 
own was reduced to as little as possible; but we soon discover¬ 
ed that it was impossible to stow away the luggage in the first 
sleigh that had been brought for our inspection, for when my 
railway bag, saddle-bags, cartridge-box, gun, and sleeping-sack 
had been put inside and were well covered with straw, I essayed 
to sit upon them, but found that there was too little distance 
from the improvised seat to the roof, and my back was nearly 
bent double in consequence. 

“Bring out another sleigh,” said my friend. “How the 
wind cuts! does it not ?” he continued, as the breeze, whistling 
against our bodies, made itself felt in spite of all the precau¬ 
tions we had taken. The vehicle now brought was broader 
and more commodious than the previous one, which, somewhat 
in the shape of a coffin, seemed especially designed so as to tort- 

3 


50 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


ure the occupants, particularly if, like my companion and self, 
they should happen to be endowed by nature with that curse 
during a sleigh journey — however desirable appendages they 
may be when in a crowd — long legs. Three horses abreast, 
their coats white with pendent icicles and hoar-frost, were 
harnessed to the sleigh; the centre animal was in the shafts, 
and had his head fastened to a huge Avooden head-collar, bright 
with various colors. From the summit of the head-collar Avas 
suspended a bell, while the t\\ r o outside horses Avere harness¬ 
ed by cord traces to splinter-bars attached to the sides of the 
sleigh. The object of all this is to make the animal in the 
middle trot at a brisk pace, Avliile his two companions gallop, 
their necks arched round in a direction opposite to the horse 
in the centre, this poor beast’s head being tightly reined up to 
the head-collar. 

A Avell-turned-out troika Avith three really good horses, Avhich 
get over the ground at the rate of tAvelve miles an hour, is a 
pretty sight to Avitness, particularly if the team has been prop¬ 
erly trained, and the outside animals never attempt to break 
into a trot, while the one in the shafts steps fonvard with high 
action ; but the constrained position in Avliich the horses are 
kept must be highly uncomfortable to them, and one not cal¬ 
culated to enable a driver to get as much pace out of his ani¬ 
mals as they could give him if harnessed in another manner. 

OS we went at a brisk pace, the bell dangling from our 
horse’s head-collar, and jingling merrily at every stride of the 
team. 

The sun rose high in the heavens: it Avas a bright and glo¬ 
rious morning in spite of the intense cold, and the amount of 
oxygen we inhaled was enough to elevate the spirits of the 
most dyspeptic of mankind. Presently, after descending a 
slight declivity, our Jehu turned sharply to the right; then 
came a scramble and succession of jolts and jerks as Ave slid 
down a steep bank, and Ave found ourselves on what appeared 
to be a broad high-road. Here the sight of many masts and 
shipping which, bound in by the iron fetters of a relentless 
Avinter, Avould remain imbedded in the ice till the ensuing 
spring, shoAved me that Ave Avere on the Volga. It Avas an ani- 


PICTURESQUE SCENERY. 


51 


mated spectacle, this frozen highway, thronged with peasants 
who strode beside their sledges, which were bringing cotton 
and other goods from Orenburg to the railway. Now a smart 
troika would dash by us, its driver shouting as he passed, when 
our Jehu, stimulating his steeds by loud cries and frequent 
applications of the whip, would vainly strive to overtake his 
brother coachman. Old and young alike seemed like octoge¬ 
narians, their short thick beards and mustaches being white 
as hoar-frost from the congealed breath. According to all ac¬ 
counts the river had not been long frozen, and till very recently 
steamers laden with corn from Southern Russia had plied be¬ 
tween Sizeran and Samara. The price of corn is here forty 
copecks the pood of forty pounds, while the same quantity at 
Samara could be purchased for eighteen copecks. An iron 
bridge w T as being constructed a little farther down the Volga. 
Here the railroad was to pass, and it was said that in two years’ 
time there would be railway communication, not only between 
Samara and the capital, but even as far as Orenburg. 

Presently the scenery became very picturesque as we raced 
over the glistening surface, which flashed like a burnished cui¬ 
rass beneath the rays of the rising sun. Now w r e approach a 
spot where seemingly the waters from some violent blast or 
other had been in a state of foam and commotion, when a stern 
frost transformed them into a solid mass. Pillars and blocks 
of the shining and hardened element were seen modeled into 
a thousand quaint and grotesque patterns. Here a fountain, 
perfectly formed with Ionic and Doric columns, was reflecting 
a thousand prismatic hues from the diamond-like stalactites 
which had attached themselves to its crest. There a huge obe- 
lisk, which, if of stone, might have come from ancient Thebes, 
lay half buried beneath a pile of fleecy snow. Farther on we 
came to what might have been a Roman temple or vast hall in 
the palace of a Caesar, where many half-hidden pillars and 
monuments erected their tapering summits above the piles of 
the debris. The wind had done in that northern latitude what 
has been performed by some violent pre-adamite agency in the 
Berber desert. Take away the ebon blackness of the stony 
masses which have been there cast forth from the bowels of 


52 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


the earth, and replace them on a smaller scale by the crystal 
forms I have faintly attempted to describe, and the resemblance 
would be striking. 

Now we came to some fishing-huts, which were constructed 
on the frozen river, the traffic in the finny tribe which takes 
place in this part of Russia being very great, the Volga pro¬ 
ducing the sterlet (a fish unknown in other rivers of Europe) 
in large quantities. I have often eaten them, but must say I 
could never appreciate this so-called delicacy. The bones are 
of a very glutinous nature, and can be easily masticated, while 
the taste of a sterlet is something between that of a barbel and 
a perch, the muddy flavor of the former predominating. How¬ 
ever, they are an expensive luxury, as, to be in perfection for 
the table, they should be taken out of the water alive and put 
at once into the cooking-pot. The distance to St. Petersburg 
from the Volga is considerable, and a good-sized fish will often 
cost from thirty to forty rubles, and sometimes even a great 
deal more. 

In most of the restaurants in the capital the proprietors 
keep sterlet alive in small ponds. The intending purchaser 
goes there to select a fish for his dinner, the owner of the res¬ 
taurant dragging it out of the water with a landing-net for his 
customer’s inspection. 

“ The Cossacks of the Ural have a singular way of catching 
sturgeon,” observed my companion, “ and it is a method, I be¬ 
lieve, unknown in any other part of Europe. At certain times 
in the winter, the men assemble in large numbers by the side 
of the river, and, dismounting from their horses, cut a deep 
trench across the stream from one of its banks to the other. 
They then lower their nets into the w r ater, and arrange them so 
as to block up the entire channel, when, getting on their horses, 
they will ride for seven or eight miles along the banks. They 
then form a line of horsemen reaching from shore to shore, and 
gallop down in the direction of the nets. The fish, hearing the 
clatter of a thousand hoofs, swim away from the sound, and 
dart like lightning in the opposite direction. Here their course 
is at once arrested, and they become entangled in the tram¬ 
mels. The quantity of sturgeon is at times so large,” he con- 


THE THREE KINDS OF CAVIARE. 


53 


tinued, “ that the sheer weight of the fish is sufficient to force a 
passage through the nets, a blank day being the result to the 
fishermen.” 

In England the sturgeon is looked upon as being rather 
coarse eating, and as unfit for the table, but in Russia it is high¬ 
ly appreciated; and when served up in cold slices with jelly 
and horse-radish sauce, it is by no means to be despised, and I 
have eaten many a worse dish on this side the Channel. The 
part of the sturgeon most liked by the Russians is the roe (the 
far-famed caviare), and a Russian will take this out while the 
fish is almost alive, and devour it with the greatest gusto, for 
the fresher the caviare is, the more it is liked. There are three 
kinds of caviare in Russia—the quite fresh, when no salt what¬ 
ever has been added; then the slightly salted, which is the 
caviare generally exported to this country and to other parts of 
Europe; and finally the pressed caviare, which is the second 
quality pressed into cakes. This is used for sandwiches and 
other relishes. A little pressed or fresh caviare and a glass or 
so of Russian vodki, taken a minute before sitting down at the 
dinner-table, gives a wonderful stimulus to the appetite, and a 
strong incentive to thirst. 


G4 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


CHAPTER VI. 

A Hole in the Ice.—The two Alternatives.—Being- Dragged through the 
Water.—Preparing for the Leap.—Price of Land.—Our First Halting- 
place.—Winnowing Corn.—Russian Idols. 

The road now changed its course, and our driver directed 
his steeds toward the bank. Suddenly we discovered that im¬ 
mediately in front of us the ice had broken beneath a horse 
and sleigh, and that the animal was struggling in the water. 
The river here was fortunately only about four feet deep, so 
there would not be much difficulty in extracting the quadru¬ 
ped ; but what to ourselves seemed far more important, was to 
solve the knotty problem of how to get to land ; for between 
our sleigh and the shore was a wide gulf, and there seemed 
to be no possibility of driving through it without a wetting. 
“Pleasant,”muttered my companion, “pleasant, very! Let us 
get out and have a good look round, to see if we can not find 
a place where we can get across in safety.” 

“ I will pull you through,” observed our Jehu, with a broad 
grin on his lobster-colored countenance, and apparently much 
amused with the state of things. 

“No, O son of an animal,” retorted my companion; “stay 
here till we return.” 

After considerable search we found a spot where the water 
channel was certainly not much more than twelve feet across, 
and some peasants who were fishing in the river came up and 
volunteered their assistance. One of them produced a pole 
about eight feet long, with which, he said, we could jump the 
chasm. My companion looked at me with a melancholy smile, 
in which resolution and caution struggled for the mastery. 
“ It is very awful,” he said, “ very awful; but there is no other 
alternative, and I much fear that we must.” 

With these words he seized the pole, and carefully inserted 


BEING DRAGGED THROUGH THE WATER. 55 

one end of it in the muddy bottom. “ If the ice gives way 
when I land on the other side!” he suddenly observed, re¬ 
leasing his hold of the leaping-bar. “ Why, if it does, you will 
get a ducking,” was my remark: “ but be quick; the longer 
you look at it, the less you will like it; and it is very cold stand¬ 
ing here : now then, jump over.” 

“ I have been just thinking,” went on my companion, “ wheth¬ 
er it would not be better to be pulled through in the sleigh, for 
then I shall only get the bottom part of my body wet; but if 
the confounded ice breaks—which must also be taken into con¬ 
sideration, for I am not at all light ” (this was certainly the 
case, as with his furs and other clothes he must have weighed 
at least twenty stone), “ nor am I so active as I was : why, I 
shall get in, and very likely be frozen to death in consequence.” 

At this moment his apprehensions were very nearly realized; 
for the ice, giving way under one of his feet, let it in to about 
a foot of water, when, retracing his steps rapidly, my companion 
remarked, “ I shall be dragged through, and not for all the joys 
of Paradise will I intrust myself to that confounded pole.” 

It was an awful moment, and I can not say that I relished 
the situation. There are minutes in a man’s life when the heart 
has a strong inclination to jump into his mouth. It is a very 
disagreeable sensation, and one which I have sometimes experi¬ 
enced when riding at a Leicestershire so-called bullfinch, not be¬ 
ing quite aware of what Avas on the other side; but then there 
was a gallery of other men looking on—a wonderful incentive 
•—while this time there Avere no spectators save a feAV grinning 
moujikis and my companion, avIio, as he had not faced the ob¬ 
stacle himself, thought that it would be better and more digni¬ 
fied if I Avere to folloAv his example. 

Dignity appeared to me to be out of the question, particular¬ 
ly AA T hen placed betAveen the tAvo alternatives of being dragged 
through the AA r ater or risking a jump into the channel. It was 
a disagreeable choice, but I selected the latter, at the same time 
being a little annoyed at the chaffing remarks of the grinning 
peasants, who, greatly enjoying our discomfiture, were passing 
sotto voce observations on the size of my companion and my¬ 
self, eminently true but highly disrespectful. “ Hoav fat they 


56 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


are !” said one. “ No, it’s their furs,” observed another. “ How 
awkward he is!” continued a third; “ why, I could jump it my¬ 
self.” “ I tell you what it is, my friend,” I at length observed, 
“ if you continue this conversation, I think it very likely you 
will jump either over or in, for I want to find out the exact dis¬ 
tance, and am thinking of throwing you over first, in order to 
satisfy my mind as to how wide it is, and how deep.” 

This remark, uttered in rather a sharp tone, had the desired 
effect, and, seizing the pole convulsively, I prepared for the leap, 
which, nothing to a man not clad in furs, was by no means a 
contemptible one in my sleigh attire. One, two, three! a bound, 
a sensation of flying through the air, a slip, a scramble, and I 
found myself on the other side, having got over with no more 
damage than one wet leg, the boot itself being instantly cov¬ 
ered with a shining case of ice. 

“ Come along quick!” cried my friend, who by this time had 
been dragged through; “ let us get on as quickly as possible;” 
and without giving me time to see if my cartridges or other 
baggage on the bottom of the sleigh had suffered from the 
ducking, we rattled off once more in the direction of Samara. 

Estates have become much dearer in the neighborhood of 
Sizeran since the railway has been opened up to that town, and 
a desyatin of land (2.7 acres) now costs twenty rubles, while 
in Samara it can be purchased for half that price. Land gives 
a good return for the capital invested upon it in Russia, and a 
proprietor thinks that he has reason to grumble if he does not 
receive from six to eight per cent, on the purchase-money, clear 
and free from any deductions. 

An English gentleman, a well-known M.P., foreseeing the rise 
which will take place in the value of property near Samara, has 
bought a large and beautiful estate in that neighborhood. Ac¬ 
cording to my companion, he will double the capital invested 
should he in the course of two or three years wish to part with 
his purchase. 

We were now gradually nearing our first halting-place, where 
it was arranged that we should change horses. This was a farm¬ 
house known by the name of Nijnege Pegersky Ilootor, twenty- 
five versts distant from Sizeran. Some men were engaged in 


A RUSSIAN FARM-HOUSE. 


57 


winnowing corn in a yard hard by the dwelling; and the system 
they employed to separate the husks from the grain probably 
dates from before the flood, for, throwing the corn high up into 
the air with a shovel, they let the wind blow away the husks, 
and the grain descended on to a carpet set to catch it in the 
fall. It was then considered to be sufficiently winnowed, and 
fit to be sent to the mill. The farm-house was fairly clean, 
and, for a wonder, there were no live animals inside the dwell¬ 
ing. It is no uncommon thing in farm-houses in Russia to find 
a calf domesticated in the sitting-room of the family, and this 
more particularly during the winter months. But here the good 
housewife permitted no such intruders, and the boards were 
clean and white, thus showing that a certain amount of scrub¬ 
bing was the custom. 

The habitation, which was of a square shape, and entirely 
made of wood, contained two good-sized but low rooms, a large 
stove made of dried clay being so arranged as to warm both 
the apartments. A heavy wooden door on the outside of the 
building gave access to a small portico, at the other end of 
which there was the customary obraz, or image, which is to be 
found in almost every house in Russia. These obrazye are 
made of different patterns, but generally take the form of a 
picture of saints or of the Trinity. They are executed in sil¬ 
ver-gilt or brass relief, and adorned with tawdry fringe or other 
gewgaws. The repeated bows and crosses made by the peas¬ 
antry before these idols is very surprising to an Englishman, 
who may have been told that there is little difference between 
the Greek religion and his own ; but if this is the case, the soon¬ 
er the second commandment is omitted from our service, the 
better. It may be said that the Russian peasantry only look 
upon these images as symbols, and that in reality they are pray¬ 
ing to the living God. Let any one who indulges in this delu¬ 
sion travel in Russia and talk to the inhabitants with reference 
to the obrazye, or go to Kiev at the time of a pilgrimage to the 
mummified saints in that sanctuary, and I think he will then 
say that no country in the world is so imbued with supersti¬ 
tious credences as Russia. 

Above the stove, which was about five feet high, a platform 

3 * 


58 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


of boards had been erected at a distance of about three feet 
from the ceiling. This was the sleeping resort of the family, 
and occasionally used for drying clothes during the day. The 
Russian moujik likes this platform more than any other part of 
the habitation, and his great delight is to lie there and perspire 
profusely, after which he finds himself the better able to resist 
the cold of the elements outside. The farm-house in which I 
now found myself had cost in building two hundred rubles, 
about twenty-six pounds of our money, and her home was a 
source of pride to the good housewife, who could read and 
write, an accomplishment not often possessed by the women of 
this class in the provinces of Russia. 

By this time our former team had been replaced by three 
fresh horses, and the driver who was to accompany us had near¬ 
ly finished making his own preparations for the sleigh journey. 
Several long bands of cloth, first carefully warmed at the stove, 
were successively wound round his feet, and then, having put 
on a pair of thick boots and stuffed some hay into a pair of 
much larger dimensions, he drew the latter on as well, when, 
with a thick sheep-skin coat, cap, and vashlik, he declared that 
he was ready to start. 

The cold was very intense when we quitted the threshold, 
and the thermometer had fallen several degrees during the last 
half-hour; the wind had also increased, and it howled and 
whistled against the eaves of the farm-house, bearing millions 
of minute snowy flakes before it in its course. Presently the 
sound of a little stamping on the bottom of the sleigh an¬ 
nounced to me that the cold had penetrated to my companion’s 
feet, and that he was endeavoring to keep up the circulation. 


SPOILED HORSES. 


59 


CHAPTER VII. 

Pins-and-Needles.—Spoiled Horses.—Driver’s Idea of Distance.—The Halt¬ 
ing-place.—Our Fellow-travelers.—A Devout but Unwashed Peddler.— 

A Glorious Sunrise.—A Bargain is a Bargain. 

Very soon tliat so-called “ pins-and-needles ” sensation, re¬ 
calling some snow-balling episodes of my boyish days, began 
once more to make itself felt, and I found myself commencing 
a sort of double-shuffle against the boards of the vehicle. The 
snow was falling in thick flakes, and with great difficulty our 
driver could keep the track, his jaded horses sinking sometimes 
up to the traces in the rapidly forming drifts, and floundering 
heavily along the now thoroughly hidden road. The cracks of 
his whip sounded like pistol-shots against their jaded flanks, 
and volumes of invectives issued from his lips. 

“Oh, sons of animals !”—[whack]. 

“ Oh, spoiled one !”—[whack]. This to a brute which look¬ 
ed as if he had never eaten a good feed of corn in his life. 
“ Oh, w r oolly ones !”—[whack ! whack ! whack !]. 

“ O Lord God!” This as we were all upset into a snow¬ 
drift, the sleigh being three-parts overturned, and our Jehu pre¬ 
cipitated in the opposite direction. 

“ How far are we from the next halting-place ?” suddenly in¬ 
quired my companion, with an ejaculation which showed that 
even his good temper had given way under the cold and our 
situation. 

“ Only four versts, one of noble birth,” replied the struggling 
Jehu, who was busily engaged endeavoring to right the half- 
overturned sleigh. A Russian verst about night-fall, and under 
such conditions as I have endeavored to point out to the read¬ 
er, is an unknown quantity. A Scotch mile and a bit, an Irish 
league, a Spanish legua, or the German stunde, are at all times 
calculated to call forth the wrath of the traveler, but in no way 


60 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


equal to the first-named division of distance. For the verst is 
barely two-thirds of an English mile, and when, after driving 
yet for an hour, we were told that there were still two versts 
more before we could arrive at our halting-place, it began fully 
to dawn upon my friend that either our driver’s knowledge of 
distance, or otherwise his veracity, was at fault. 

At last we reached a long, straggling village, formed of 
houses constructed much in the same way as that previously 
described, when our horses stopped before a detached cottage. 
The proprietor came out to meet us at the threshold. “ Sa¬ 
movar, samovar !” (urn), said my companion. “ Quick, quick ! 
samovar!” and hurrying by him, and hastily throwing off our 
furs, we endeavored to regain our lost circulation beside the 
walls of a well-heated stove. 

In a few minutes, and when the blood had begun once more 
to flow in its proper channels, I began to look round and ob¬ 
serve the other occupants of the room. These were for the 
most part Jews, as could easily be seen by that peculiarity of 
the nose which unfailingly denotes any member of the tribe of 
Israel. Some half-open boxes of wares in the corner also show¬ 
ed their trade. The men were hawkers of fancy jewelry and 
other finery calculated to please the wives of the farmers or 
better-to-do peasants in the neighborhood. 

The smell was any thing but agreeable, and the stench of 
sheep-skins, unwashed humanity, and some oily cooking going 
on in a very dirty frying-pan, at last caused my companion to 
inquire if there was no other room vacant. We were shown 
into a small adjoining apartment, where the smell, though very 
pungent, was not quite so disagreeable as in the one inhabit¬ 
ed by the family. “ This is a little better,” muttered my com¬ 
panion, unpacking his portmanteau, and taking out a tea-pot, 
with two small metal cases containing tea and sugar. “ Quick, 
Tetka, Aunt!” he cried (this to the old woman of the house), 
“ quick with the samovar!” when an aged female, who might 
have been any age from eighty to a hundred, for she was al¬ 
most bent double by decrepitude, carried in a large copper urn, 
the steam hissing merrily under the influence of the red-hot 
charcoal embers. 


OUR FELLOW-TRAVELERS. 


61 


By this time I had unstrapped the mess tins, and was ex¬ 
tracting their contents. “ Let me be the carver,” said mv 
friend, at the same time trying to cut one of the cutlets with 
a knife; but he might as well have tried to pierce an iron-clad 
with a pea-shooter, for the meat was turned into a solid lump 
of ice. It was as hard as a brickbat, and when we tried the 
bread it was equally impenetrable; in fact, it was only after 
our provisions had been placed within the stove for about ten 
minutes that they became in any way eatable. In the mean 
time my companion had concocted a most delicious brew, and 
with a large glass of pale or rather amber-colored tea, with a 
thin slice of lemon floating on the top, I was beginning to 
realize how pleasant it is to have been made thoroughly un¬ 
comfortable, for it is only after having arrived at this point of 
misery that you can thoroughly appreciate what real enjoy¬ 
ment is. “ What is pleasure ?” asked a pupil of his master. 
“Absence of pain,” was the philosopher’s answer; and let any 
one who doubts that a feeling of intense enjoyment can be ob¬ 
tained from drinking a mere glass of tea, try a sleighing jour¬ 
ney through Russia with the thermometer at 20° Reaumur and 
a wind. 

In almost an hour’s time we were ready to start, but not so 
our driver, and to the expostulations of my companion he re¬ 
plied, “ No, little father, there is a snow-storm; we might be 
lost, and I might be frozen. O Lord God! there are wolves; 
they might eat me: the ice in the river might give way, and 
we might all be drowned. For the sake of God, let us stop 
here!” 

“You shall have a good tea present,”* I observed, “if you 
will drive us.” 

“ Oh, one of noble birth,” was his answer, “ we will stop here 
to-night, and Batooshka, little father, also,” pointing to my 
companion; “ but to-morrow we will have beautiful horses, 
and go like birds to the next station.” 

It was useless attempting to persuade him. Resigning our¬ 
selves to our fate, my companion and self lay down on the 


* A Russian terra for a money erift to an inferior. 



G2 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


planks to obtain what sleep could be found, notwithstanding 
the noise that was going on in the next room, the Jew ped¬ 
dlers being occupied in trying to sell some of their wares, and 
drive a bargain with the antique mistress of the house. Not¬ 
withstanding her age, she was keenly alive to her own interests, 
and the shrill female accents mingling with the nasal ejacula¬ 
tions of the Hebrews were not at all conducive to slumber. 

Presently another peddler, enveloped in sheep - skins and 
covered with snow, strode into our room, where he began to 
cross himself and perform his devotions before an obraz which 
was attached to one of the walls. As soon as this act of wor¬ 
ship was finished, he commenced bargaining with the owner 
of the house, trying to persuade the man to let him have a 
horse to drive to the next station at a lower rate than the one 
ordinarily paid. But the proprietor was proof against all this 
kind of eloquence, and the peddler, finding that his entreaties 
were useless, returned once more to our room, and, kicking off 
his boots by the side of my companion’s head, announced his 
intention of passing the night there. This the Russian gen¬ 
tleman objected to in very strong terms, for in addition to the 
smell of the peddler’s body and his garments, there was good 
reason to believe that a vast amount of what it is not necessary 
here to mention inhabited his beard and clothes. “ No, broth¬ 
er,” said my companion firmly, at the same time taking up 
the peddler’s sheep-skin between his finger and thumb, when, 
holding it at arms-length before him, he deposited the filthy 
garment in the other room. “ Go there, brother, for the sake 
of God, and pass the night with your fellows.” 

It was in vain attempting to sleep; the new arrival had 
brought a still further element of discord amidst the assem¬ 
bled peddlers. They were a strange party in that room—the 
proprietor, his mother, his wife, and her sister, two or three 
children, and five peddlers, all huddled together promiscuously, 
and adding by their number to the foul air which poisoned the 
interior of the dwelling. What surprised me most was to see 
how healthy the children looked. I should have imagined 
that they would have been poor, weak, delicate little things, 
but no; and the eldest, a chubby lad about ten years old, ap- 


A GLORIOUS SUNRISE. 


63 


parently the picture of health, looked as if bad smells and want 
of ventilation decidedly agreed with him. 

The Russian peasants are not ignorant of the good old max¬ 
im that the early bird gets the worm, and the few hours’ day¬ 
light they enjoy during the winter months makes it doubly 
necessary for them to observe this precept. We were all up a 
good hour before sunrise, my companion making the tea, while 
our driver was harnessing the horses, but this time not three 
abreast, for the road was bad and narrow; so we determined to 
have two small sleighs with a pair of horses to each, and put 
our luggage in one vehicle while we traveled in the other. 

Off we went, a motley crew. First, the unwashed peddler 
who had wished to be my companion’s bedfellow the night be¬ 
fore ; then our luggage sleigh; and, finally, my friend and self, 
who brought up the rear, with a careful eye upon our effects, 
as the people in that part of the country were said to have 
some difficulty in distinguishing between meum and tuum. 

The sun was bright and glorious, and in no part of the 
world hitherto visited have I ever seen aurora in such magnifi¬ 
cence. First, a pale blue streak, gradually extending over the 
whole of the eastern horizon, arose like a w r all barring the un¬ 
known beyond ; then, suddenly changing color until the sum¬ 
mit w T as like lapis lazuli, and its base a sheet of purple waves of 
gray and crystal, radiating from the darker hues, relieved the 
eye, appalled by the vastness of the barrier; the purple foun¬ 
dations were in turn upheaved by a sea of fire, which dazzled 
the eye with its glowing brilliancy, and the wall of colors float¬ 
ing in space broke up into castles, battlements, and towers, 
which were wafted by the breeze far away from our view. 
The sea of flame meanwhile had lighted up the whole horizon; 
the eye quailed beneath the glare. The snowy carpet at our 
feet reflected like a camera the wonderful panorama overhead. 
Flakes of light in rapid succession bound earth to sky, until 
the globe of sparkling light arising from the depths of this 
ocean of flame dimmed into insignificance the surroundings of 
the picture. 

Presently a sudden check and exclamation of our Jehu told 
us that the harness had given way, and a conversation, freely 


64 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


interlarded with epithets exchanged between the driver and the 
peddler, showed that there was decidedly a difference of opinion 
between them. It appeared that the man of commerce was the 
only one of the party who knew the road, and having discov¬ 
ered this fact, he determined to make use of his knowledge by 
refusing to show the way unless the proprietor of the horses 
who drove the vehicle containing our luggage would abate a 
little from the price he had demanded for the hire of the horse 
in the peddler’s sleigh. “A bargain is a bargain 1” cried our 
driver, wishing to curry favor with his master, now a few yards 
behind him. “A bargain is a bargain. Oh, thou son of an 
animal, drive on !” “It is very cold,” muttered my companion. 
“ For the sake of God,” he shouted, “ go on!” But neither the 
allusion to the peddler’s parentage nor the invocation of the 
Deity had the slightest effect upon the fellow’s mercenary soul. 

“ I am warm, and well wrapped up,” he said; “ it is all the 
same to me if we wait here one hour or tenand with the 
most provoking indifference he commenced to smoke, not even 
the manner in which the other drivers aspersed the reputa¬ 
tion of his mother appearing to have the smallest effect. At 
last the proprietor, seeing it was useless holding out any longer, 
agreed to abate somewhat from the hire of the horse, and once 
more the journey continued over a break-neck country, though 
at any thing but a break-neck pace, until we reached the station 
— a farm-house — eighteen versts from our sleeping quarters, 
and, as we were informed, forty-five from Samara. 


THE RIVER SAMARA. 


65 


CHAPTER VIII. 

The Guardian of the Forests.—No Sleigh-bells allowed in the Town.— 
Hotel Anaeff.—A Coffin-shaped Vehicle.—Law about Libel.—Price of 
Provisions at Samara.—Rate of Mortality among the Infantine Popu¬ 
lace.—Podorojnayas, or Road Passports.-—The Grumbler’s Book.—Dif¬ 
ference of Opinion between my Horses and the Driver. 

The Guardian of the Forests stepped into the dwelling while 
we were waiting for fresh horses, and said that there were many 
wolves in the neighborhood, and that they did a great deal of 
damage to the flocks; at the same time informing us that he 
had shot several wolves that winter, and one only two days be¬ 
fore. The keeper was a well-built, sturdy fellow, and, seeing 
my gun, proposed that we should stop a day or so, remarking 
that he could show us some capital sport. But my companion 
was obliged to hasten to his property; and as for myself, the 
14th of April—the termination of my leave of absence—rose 
up like a bugbear in my mind’s eye. 

Every day was precious, and I had no time, much as I should 
have liked to accept the invitation. About six hours more 
brought us to the river Samara—here a broad stream which 
runs into the Volga. We dashed over a road made on its glis¬ 
tening surface, when the driver, pulling up his horses and get¬ 
ting down to tie up the bell on the head-collar, informed us 
that we were about to enter the town, no bells being allowed 
within the suburbs, for fear of frightening any horses unaccus¬ 
tomed to the tinkle. 

A rapid drive through some fine broad streets — the well- 
built houses announcing that the inhabitants were comfortably 
off in this world’s goods—and five minutes later I found myself 
beneath the roof of the Hotel Anaeff, a much better hostelry 
than I should have thought to encounter so far from a railway. 

There was no time to be lost, for the day was well advanced, 
and we at once commenced making preparations for our jour- 


60 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


ney onward, my fellow-traveler leaving me at this point, as liis 
estate was not on the road to Orenburg. I was sorry to shake 
hands with him and to say good-bye. He was a very cheery 
companion, and a drive over the steppes alone, and without a 
soul to speak to for several hundred miles, was not an inviting 
prospect. Mais a la guerre comme a la guerre , and the same 
saying equally applying to a winter journey through Russia, I 
resigned myself to the situation, speedily forgetting all cares in 
the bustle of laying in a stock of provisions for the road, and 
in the search for a sleigh, which I had here to buy to convey 
me and my fortunes to Orenburg, or perhaps to Khiva. 

Presently a coffin-shaped vehicle was driven up for my in¬ 
spection, when I discovered that one of the runners was cracked, 
and not in a fit state for the journey. The owner of the sleigh 
used all his eloquence to persuade me that there was an advan¬ 
tage in having a damaged runner, and seemed much surprised 
when I informed him that I did not share this opinion; how¬ 
ever, seeing me obdurate, he promised to have the vehicle re¬ 
paired, and ready to start by the break of day. 

The law of libel is stringently applied in Russia, judging by 
a paragraph which I saw in a newspaper that evening. It ap¬ 
peared that the editor of the magazine Dalo had been sum¬ 
moned by a Mr. Weinberg for calling him a beggar. The ed¬ 
itor, according to the evidence, had previously asked the plaint¬ 
iff to translate a work. On its completion, Mr. W. wrote to 
his employer requesting the payment of fifty rubles, which 
would make up the difference of the amount due. No answer 
being returned, he called in person, and said he would not 
leave without the money. Upon this, the editor sent him 
down a ruble note, wrapped up in a piece of paper, on which 
was written, “ I give you this for your begging,” or words to 
that effect. The advocate for the defense apologized for his 
client, who, he said, was an old man; but the court, not seeing 
the point of the argument, sentenced the editor to two weeks’ 
imprisonment—undoubtedly a well-merited punishment; though 
in England I much doubt if the offender would have even been 
mulcted in damages for the expression. The Russian law fc 
libel, or rather insult (oskorblenie), is very voluminous, ar 


PRICE OF PROVISIONS AT SAMARA. 


67 


many words which in this country would not come within the 
statute for libel are followed by a heavy punishment in the 
Tzar’s dominions. 

The people at Samara were looking forward to the rapid 
completion of the railway from Sizeran to that town — the 
proprietors of land being the most interested in the matter, as 
then they would be able to obtain a better market for their 
corn. Provisions were very cheap, the best beef only costing 
seven copecks per pound, and bread two and a half copecks, 
while twenty bottles of vodki could be purchased for four ru¬ 
bles ; thus enabling the inhabitants of that highly favored com¬ 
munity to get drunk, if they wished, at even a lower rate than 
that announced on a placard hung some years ago outside a 
public-house in Ratcliff Highway, and couched in the follow¬ 
ing terms: “ Take notice.—Get drunk and be made happy, all 
for a penny.” 

Mutton was even cheaper than beef, and to be bought for 
six copecks a pound; while a first-rate cow could be readily 
purchased for thirty rubles, and a hundred fresh eggs for one 
ruble and a half. When I jotted down the list of prices, which 
was furnished me by the polite secretary at Anaeff’s Hotel, I 
began to think that what I had read in my boyhood about the 
latitude and longitude of the Promised Land must be a myth. 
Samara was evidently that much-desired region, and would be 
an abode of bliss to all those melancholy and matrimony-in- 
search-of young bachelors who occasionally forward a mourn¬ 
ful dirge to our daily press, and inquire if a man can marry on 
a hundred a year. Why, of course he can ! Only let him go 
to Samara, and he can keep a seraglio into the bargain, pro¬ 
vided he feeds the ladies on beef and mutton. 

The only country I have ever been in where provisions cost 
less than in Samara was in the Soudan, in Africa. There a fat 
sheep could be purchased for four shillings—a hundred eggs 
for the same price; while on the White Nile the value even of 
human beings was so depreciated as to be almost incredible; 
and many people in this country will utterly disbelieve that a 
mother could sell her own child for a small quantity of corn. 
The lad himself had not a high opinion of his paternal roof; 


68 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


for later on, when his master, an Englishman, who was passing 
by the lad’s village, told him to go back to his mother, the boy 
began to cry, and then said, in broken Arabic, “No, sir, mother 
has no clothes; you have given me clothes. Mother gave me 
nothing to eat, here there is plenty. Father gives me stick, 
and here nothing to do but eat, drink, and cook. Please let 
me stop!” Poor little Agau! he afterward returned with me 
to Cairo, and, I have no doubt, by this time has quite forgot¬ 
ten his father, mother, and the domestic fetish, in the virtues 
and vices of Pharaoh’s capital. 

But although Samara, and, in fact, all the south-eastern part 
of Russia, offers manv inducements to the settler on account of 
the low value of land and the cheapness of provisions, there is, 
in spite of these advantages, one great drawback to the coun¬ 
try, and this is the rate of mortality, the more particularly 
among the infantine population. Out of 1000 children born, 
345 die in the first five years, 40 in the next five, 19 in the 
subsequent term, and the same number ere two decades have 
been completed. Thus, out of 1000 children, 423 will not 
reach their twentieth birthday. From another table of statist¬ 
ics I took the following figures: Out of 10,000 children born, 
3830 die the first year, 975 in the second, and 524 in the third. 
Whether this excessive mortality is caused by the extreme rig¬ 
or of the winter months, or by the love of spirit-drinking on 
the part of the parents, which causes them to neglect their off¬ 
spring, is a difficult question to answer; although, probably, 
both these influences have a good deal to do with the matter. 
I have frequently heard educated Russians defend this theory, 
and curse the foundling hospitals, which, originally started to 
diminish the evil, have, in their opinion, only succeeded in aug¬ 
menting immorality, while they have greatly added to the mor¬ 
tality throughout the empire. 

There is a regular postal road which goes from Samara to 
Orenburg, and the authorities have recently established a new 
system along this route, which has superseded the old order of 
things with reference to podorojnayas , or passports. Formerly 
the traveler, previously to starting, had to visit the police, tell 
them where he was going, and the number of horses he re- 


THE COUNTRY A DEAD FLAT. 


69 


quired for liis sleigh. They would then give him a printed 
document, containing his description and an order to the post¬ 
masters of the different stations to forward him on toward his 
destination. But now all this antiquated system has been 
abolished, and a volnaya potchta, or free post, established be¬ 
tween Samara and Orsk, a town about one hundred and forty 
miles beyond Orenburg. 

All the traveler has to do is to demand at the different post- 
stations the necessary horses, when they will be immediately 
furnished him, or as soon as possible after the order has been 
given; the traveler paying in advance four copecks per horse 
for each verst traveled. 

I was called at day-break the following morning. The few 
preparations required to be made were soon finished, and I 
found myself in my newly purchased sleigh, which had been 
thoroughly repaired, driving along in the direction of Smwesh- 
laevskaya, the first station arrived at when traveling toward 
Orenburg, and about twenty versts from Samara. The coun¬ 
try was a dead flat, and of a most uninteresting description, 
during the whole way; a few trees scattered here and there 
making, by their scarcity, the bleak and naked appearance of 
the adjacent surroundings the more conspicuous. Naught save 
snow here, there, and everywhere; no signs of life save a few 
melancholy crows and jackdaws, which from time to time made 
a short flight to stretch their pinions, and then returned to 
perch by the side of some kitchen chimney, and extract from 
the rapidly rising smoke as much warmth as possible. The 
route much resembled the road between Sizeran and Samara; 
for, indeed, in winter-time every thing in Russia is either alike 
or hidden from view, buried beneath its blanch-white pall of 
snow. 

The station-houses along the line of road I was then travel¬ 
ing were fairly clean, the furniture consisting generally of a 
horse-hair sofa and some wooden chairs, while a few colored 
prints of the emperor and other members of the royal family 
of Russia were hung about the walls and made up the attempt 
at decoration. A book in which to inscribe complaints was 
also kept, and any traveler who felt himself aggrieved could 


70 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


write down liis grievance, which would be subsequently investi¬ 
gated by an inspector, whose duty it was to perform this task 
once a month. I sometimes used to while away the time, 
while waiting for fresh horses, by turning over the pages of the 
grumbler’s book—occasionally, indeed, having to add my own 
grievance to the list — the badness of the horses being a fre¬ 
quent source of annoyance to the passengers. 

I reached Bodrovsky, the next station, a little after sunset, 
only halting sufficient time to drink a few glasses of tea, in or¬ 
der the better to resist the rapidly increasing cold, the ther¬ 
mometer having fallen to 20° below zero, Reaumur, when I 
started again for Malomalisky, about 26-| versts distant. I 
hoped to reach this point about 9 p.m., and there refresh the 
inner man before proceeding on my journey. It is hungry 
work, sleigh - driving in the winter, and the frame requires a 
good deal of support in the shape of food in order to keep up 
the vitality. However, it is no good forming any plans in 
which time is concerned in Russia. The natives have a Mo¬ 
hammedan-like indifference to the clock, and travelers must 
succumb, however unwillingly, to the waywardness of the 
elements. 

Presently I became aware, by some pistol-like cracks—the 
sounds of the whip reverberating from the backs of my horses 
—that there was a difference of opinion between them and the 
driver. A blinding snow had come on ; the darkness was so 
great that I could not distinguish the driver. Our jaded ani¬ 
mals were floundering about in all directions, vainly endeavor¬ 
ing to hit off the original track, from which it was evident that 
they had strayed. Thepnan now got down from his box, and, 
leaving me in charge of the horses, made a wide cast round on 
foot, hoping to discover the road. 


A SNOW-STORM. 


71 


CHAPTER IX. 

Delayed by a Snow-storm.—Tchin.—Russian Curiosity.—A Conservative 
Inspector.—General Kryjinovsky.—He tells me that I speak Russian.— 
The Interest the Paternal Government takes in my Movements.—Rus¬ 
sia and China.—A Newlv-married Sleigh-driver.—A Camel in Love. 

The snow all this time was falling in a manner unknown to 
people in this country, and was piling itself up against the 
sleigh in such volumes that I foresaw, if we could not speedily 
reach the station, we should inevitably be buried alive. After 
about half an hour’s search the driver returned, and said to me, 
“ O Lord God !—you are a misfortune. Let us turn back.” I 
replied, “ If you have lost the way, how can you turn back ? 
Besides, if you know the road, we are now half-way, so it is 
just as easy to go forward as to return.” 

He had found the track, but by this time the sleigh was so 
buried in the snow that the horses could not stir it. There was 
only one thing to do, which was for me to get out and help 
him to lift the vehicle, when we eventually succeeded in regain¬ 
ing the path. 

The fellow was a good deal surprised at this action on my 
part, for Russian gentlemen, as a rule, would almost prefer to 
be frozen to death than do any manual labor. Presently he 
said, “ One of noble birth, what shall we do now ?” “ Go on.” 

But at last, finding that it was no use, and that the snow in 
front of us had drifted over the track to a much greater extent 
than over that part of the road which we had left behind, I 
was reluctantly obliged to give the order to return. This he 
obeyed with the greatest alacrity, the horses, as well as the 
driver, showing, by their redoubled exertions, that they were 
well aware of the change of direction. 

There is nothing so disheartening to a traveler who wishes to 
get forward rapidly as the frequent snow-storms which occur 


72 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


in winter in tliis part of Russia. Days upon days of valuable 
time are thus lost, while any attempt to force a way through 
at all hazards will only lead to the extreme probability of your 
being frozen to death, without enabling you in any way to ac¬ 
celerate your arrival. The inspector at the station laughed 
heartily when we returned, and said that it was very fortunate 
I had not to pass the night out in the open. He had previous¬ 
ly advised us not to attempt the journey that evening, but wait 
for daylight. However, I did not believe him, and consequent¬ 
ly had to buy my experience. 

He was very anxious to know what my tchin (rank) was; 
whether I was voennye (military) or s tat sky (a civilian); and 
the spelling of my name caused him a good deal of perplexity. 

Of all the countries in which it has been my fate to travel, 
the land where curiosity is most rampant is decidedly Russia. 
Whether this comes from a dearth of public news and subjects 
for conversation, or from something innate and specially char¬ 
acterizing the Sclavonic race, it is difficult to say. The curi¬ 
osity of the fair sex, which in other countries is supposed to be 
the ne plus ultra of inquisitiveness, is in the land of the Tzar 
far outstripped by the same peculiarity in the male inhabitants. 
Of course I am alluding the more particularly to the lower or¬ 
ders, and not to the upper classes, though even with the latter 
it is a feature that can not help striking the foreigner. 

The inspector was a thorough old conservative, and greatly 
mourned the new order of things, and that he could no longer 
demand the traveler’s podorojnaya, or pass. “ Why,” he said, 
“ I do not know who I am addressing; I may be talking to a 
shop-keeper, and call him Your Excellency, or address a grand 
duke as simply one of noble birth.” “Yes,” chimed in some 
travelers who were benighted like myself, “ and rogues can 
travel now, for they are not obliged to go to the police.” I 
was rather amused at this. There was decidedly a wish on the 
part of the other wayfarers to know who I was; so, pulling 
my English passport out of my pocket, I said to the inspector, 
“ There, you can look at my podorojnaya .” He turned it up¬ 
side down ; and then said, “Ah yes ! you are a Greek; but what 
a beautiful crown that is on it! You must be some great per- 


A TELEGRAPH LINE. 


73 


sonage going to Tashkent.” “ Perhaps so,” I replied, assum¬ 
ing an air of importance. “ There is a royal highness coming 
through soon,” said the inspector; “ I heard it from a peddler 
who went by yesterday; and one of his officers is traveling on 
in front to make preparations. Perhaps his excellency,” turn¬ 
ing to me, “ is that gentleman.” “ No,” was my answer, when 
one ^>f the company, who appeared a little annoyed at my evi¬ 
dent unwillingness to undergo this process of pumping, re¬ 
marked that there had been several robberies in the neighbor¬ 
hood. “Yes, there have,” said another, and the assemblage all 
looked at me, as much as to say, “You are the man; now, do 
not deny it; we shall not believe you.” 

So the evening wore on, till one by one we laid ourselves 
down to rest, when a sound very suggestive of a pig-sty awoke 
the echoes of the night. On looking out at day-break, I found 
that the wind had subsided, and the thermometer had risen to 
within a few degrees of freezing-point. There was no time to 
be lost, particularly as I could not tell how long this exception¬ 
al order of things would last; so, ordering fresh horses, I re¬ 
commenced the journey. A great deal of snow had fallen dur¬ 
ing the night, and it was fortunate that we had returned to the 
station, as in some places, only a little distance beyond the spot 
from which my driver had retraced his steps, were drifts eight 
and ten feet deep. “ Praise be to God that we did not fall 
in!” said my Jehu, pointing them out to me as he drove by; 
“ I mio-ht have been frozen.” 

A single line of telegraph ran along the side of the road, be¬ 
ing part of the wire which connects the capital with Tashkent. 
The high poles from which the line was suspended served as a 
capital landmark to point out the route which we must follow. 
Presently the scenery changed, and some plantations here and 
there relieved the eye, tired by continually gazing over the 
endless waste. Low trucks on wooden runners, drawn by two 
or four horses, and laden with iron rails for the construction of 
the railway, encountered us on the path; while in many places 
we had great difficulty in passing, owing to the narrowness of 
the road, my Jehu’s vocabulary of expletives being more than 
thoroughly exhausted upon the heads of the sleighmen, 

4 


once 


74 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


they having, as it appeared, purposely tried to upset our sleigh 
by charging it with their heavily laden vehicles. 

A few stations farther on the road I met General Kryjinov- 
sky, the governor of the Orenburg district, who was on his 
way to St. Petersburg, accompanied by his wife and daughter. 
He had highly distinguished himself in his earlier career in 
Turkistan, and to this he ow T es the important post intrusted to 
his charge. He is a little, spare man, with a keen glance and 
determined eye, and, if I might be allowed to judge from our 
brief interview, he was not the sort of individual who would 
care to give me much information about my journey, of which 
he did not seem to approve. 

“You must remember,” he said, “on no account are you 
to go to India or to Persia. You must retrace your steps to 
European Russia along the same road by which you go. You 
speak Russian, I hear,” he suddenly remarked, looking fixedly 
at me, our conversation having been up to that time carried on 
in French. 

“Yes,” I replied; “but how clever you are to have made 
this discovery, considering that we have not spoken one word 
in your language, and you have never seen me before 1” This 
took the general a little aback, and he slightly changed color. 

He had evidently received a communication from some au¬ 
thorities at St. Petersburg, to the effect that I was acquainted 
with Russian, generally an unknown tongue to foreigners, and 
to a certain extent had let the cat out of the bag. He now 
observed, “ Oh, I only supposed you did so.” In the mean 
time, his wife and daughter were taking off their furs in the 
same apartment, the accommodation for ladies being of the 
most meagre kind in these road-side stations, there being no 
retiring-rooms whatever; and the fair sex have in this respect 
to put up with much more discomfort than the men. 

As I drove away, after our interview, I pondered the general’s 
words w r ell over in my mind—“You must not go to India; 
you must not go to Persia; and you must retrace your steps 
exactly by the same route you go.” It was really very extraor¬ 
dinary to see how much interest this paternal government in 
St. Petersburg took in my movements. Here I was traveling 


A NEWLY MARRIED SLEIGH-DRIVER. 


75 


in a country where the rulers defend the despoliation of the 
inhabitants in Central Asia, and the annexation of their ter¬ 
ritory, on the ground that it is done for the purpose of Chris¬ 
tianity and civilization. And yet the Government of this civil¬ 
ized nation made more fuss about my traveling in Central Asia 
than any mandarin at Pekin whose permission I might have 
had to ask for a journey through the Celestial Empire. 

It will take the Russians a long time to shake off from them¬ 
selves the habits and way of thought inherited from a barba¬ 
rous ancestry; and the veneer of polish laid on by a two hun¬ 
dred years’ intercourse with Europe requires but little rubbing 
to disclose the Tartar blood so freely circulating through their 
veins. 

Some distance farther on the road I observed a strong dis¬ 
inclination evinced by the man whose business it was to drive 
me to the next halting-place. He was a fresh-looking, sturdy 
fellow, and I could not understand the evident dislike he had 
for his fare, the more particularly as I had made a point of 
well tipping the respective drivers in order to get on as fast as 
possible. “ What is it ?” I inquired of the station-master. “ Is 
he ill ?” “ No,” was the reply; “ he was married yesterday, 

that is all.” It seemed somewhat cruel to tear away the poor 
fellow from the conjugal bliss that awaited him in the next 
room, but there was no help for it. No other driver could be 
procured, and the duty must be performed, while, if I had not 
before remarked that there was something amiss with the fel¬ 
low, I should very soon have found it out by the extraordinary 
motions his horses imparted to the sleigh. 

He lashed the animals, which kicked and jumped, perform¬ 
ing antics which slightly resembled the convulsive twitchings 
of an individual suffering from St. Vitus. I was thrown in the 
air and caught again by the rebound; upset, righted, and up¬ 
set again, without having had time to realize the first disaster; 
cartridge-cases, gun, saddle-bags, and self all flying in the air 
at the same instant; the enamored driver forgetting everything, 
in the absorbing influence of his passion, save the desire to re¬ 
turn to the side of his adored Dulcinea. 

I once rode a camel in love. This was in the Great Korosko 


76 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


desert. He was known by the name of the Magnoon, or the 
Mad Camel; but whether on account of his susceptible heart 
or not, I can not say. I shall never forget on one occasion, 
when the amorous quadruped had accidentally become sepa¬ 
rated from the Juliet of his affection, a sweet creature that 
carried the sheik of our party. She was very old, but this 
was no deterrent in the eyes of her ardent admirer, who was 
miserable when not at her side. I had ridden on a little ahead 
of the party, when the voice of Juliet, who was being saddled 
in the desert, and who vented her woes in weird squeals and 
sounds appropriate to her race, was wafted by the breeze to 
the attentive ears of her admirer. He was a very long and a 
very tall camel, and in an instant he commenced to rear. My 
position became both ludicrous and precarious—ludicrous to 
every one but myself, who was interested in the matter more 
than any one except Romeo—and I found that I was, as it 
were, slipping down the steep roof of a house, with nothing to 
hold on by but a little peg about four inches long, which pro¬ 
jected from the front part of the saddle. 

It was an awful moment, but he did not keep me long in 
suspense; and performing an extraordinary movement, he sud¬ 
denly swung himself round on his hind legs, and ran as fast as 
ever he could in the direction of the fair enticer. A camel’s 
gait is a peculiar one; they go something like a pig with the 
fore, and like a cow with the hind legs. The motion is de¬ 
cidedly rough, and at this moment my steed was seized with a 
strange and convulsive twitching which threatened to capsize 
the saddle. My position became each second more ridiculous 
and appalling. I was a shuttlecock; Romeo’s back was the 
battledoor. At every moment I was hurled into the air, the 
fear of missing the saddle and falling on the ground being con¬ 
tinually in my mind. The little projecting knob, which seem¬ 
ed an instrument of torture like the impaling sticks used to 
punish the unfaithful in China, was also a source of consterna¬ 
tion, and I do not think I had ever felt a more thorough sen¬ 
sation of relief than when, on arriving at our encampment, 
Romeo halted by the side of his Juliet. 

The episode with Romeo had been an alarming one, but it 


A RUSSIAN CHARIOTEER. 


77 


was nothing to being driven by tliis amorous young Russian 
as a charioteer; and at last, after having been deposited with 
all my luggage for the third time in the snow, I resolved to 
appeal to his feelings by a sharp application of my boot. 
“Why do you do that?” he said, pulling up short; “you hurt; 
you break my ribs.” 

“ I only do to you what you do to me,” was my reply; “ you 
hurt, you break my ribs, and property besides.” 

“ Oh, one of noble birth,” ejaculated the fellow, “ it is not 
my fault. It is thou, 0 moody one!” — to his off-side horse, 
accompanied by a crack from his lash. “ It is thou, O spoiled 
and cherished one!” — to his other meagre and half-starved 
quadruped. (Whack!) “ Oh, petted and caressed sons of ani¬ 

mals ” (whack, whack, whack!), “ I will teach you to upset the 
gentleman!” 


78 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


CHAPTER X. 

Sleigh Sickness.—A Happy Family.—Orenburg.—Nipping.—Gas from a 
Charcoal Stove.—A Professor of Eastern Languages.—The Chief of the 
Police.—Special Order prohibiting Foreigners from traveling in Turkis- 
tan.—Messrs. MacGahan and Schuyler.—In Search of a Servant.—Friend¬ 
ly Interest Russian Officers take in India.—Exhibition of Maps.—Map 
of Punjaub.—March Routes.—General Bazoulek. 

It was hard work, this perpetual traveling, for wherever the 
roads were passable I kept steadily journeying onward, and 
gradually diminished the distance that lay between myself and 
Orenburg. 

For the last hundred versts there were hardly any travelers 
save at one station, where I met a few officers who were on 
their way to Samara. They did not much fancy the piece of 
road which lay before them, and told me that the winter we 
were having was the most exceptionally cold season they had 
ever experienced in those latitudes. Occasionally the road for 
a few miles would take quite a different aspect, a succession of 
ridge and furrow having been formed by the wind, which had 
billowed up the snow in this strange manner. The motion my 
sleigh would then assume was any thing but of an agreeable 
character, and any person who suffers from crossing the Chan¬ 
nel would have found that a journey in a sleigh can, under 
certain circumstances, be quite as disagreeable. On the even¬ 
ings when there was no storm, when the roads were smooth 
and the horses good, it was very agreeable traveling, the stars 
and other constellations lighting up the heavens with extraor¬ 
dinary brightness, and making the night as clear as day, while 
the “ tinkle, tinkle, tinkle ” of the sleigh-bells, changing time as 
the horses changed their pace, now ringing fast and furiously, 
then dying away as our animals struggled up some eminence, 
helped to while away the hours. When about sixty versts 
from Orenburg, I was told that a short cut off the road would 


A HAPPY FAMILY. 


70 


diminish the distance considerably. I determined to avail my¬ 
self of this information, and take the risk of not being able to 
find horses at the farm-houses on the road, where the farmers, 
if they have any animals in their stables, are only too glad to 
let them out to the travelers. 

Presently we arrived at a cottage the fac-simile of an Irish 
hovel. Here were some unclean four-footed ones, sharing the 
habitation with the two-legged inmates. Pigs, calves, men, 
women, and children were huddled together round a huge stove, 
which barely warmed the ill-built and wretched hovel. But 
the horses supplied me were good, and finally we crossed the 
Samara River. Once more some signs of cultivation, for a few 
brick houses were to be seen: my driver leaped from his seat 
and tied up the bell on the horse’s head-collar. We w r ere ap¬ 
proaching a town, and shortly afterward we dashed up the 
principal street at a good swinging gallop, my sleighman shoub 
ing cheerily, and cracking his whip at every bound. Orenburg 
w r as reached, and a few minutes later I found myself in a well- 
warmed room, enjoying a wash, the luxury of which can only 
be appreciated by those who have driven four hundred versts 
through Russia in the winter, and who have thus practically 
become acquainted with the slight respect the Russians show 
to the good old maxim, “ Cleanliness is next to godliness,” the 
latter quality, as displayed in a Russian devotee, being more al¬ 
lied with dirt than any thing else I can mention. 

It was evident that I was rapidly leaving civilization behind 
me. No bed-linen could be procured, and on my asking for 
a towel, the nearest approach to this commodity which could 
be obtained was a table-napkin. Russians when journeying in 
these regions carry about their owm bed-linen, pillow-cases, etc., 
and either dispense with sheets altogether, or are contented 
with a rug. The architect who had designed this hotel was 
evidently a stranger to comfort, as this is understood in other 
countries. To go from the dining-rooms to the bedrooms, it 
was necessary to pass through an open court-yard, which, as 
the thermometer was at that time occasionally 30° below T zero, 
Reaumur, did not conduce to the traveler’s comfort. The peo¬ 
ple staying in the inn were chiefly officers, and a well-w r orn bill- 


80 


A RIDE TO KIIIVA. 


iard-table in a room down-stairs was being played on inces¬ 
santly night and day; while the attendant at a bar, where ca¬ 
viare, salt-fish, anchovies, sour-kront, and all kinds of relishes, 
with spirits and liquors, could be procured, had not a spare mo¬ 
ment to himself. 

In fact, there is no country in the world, not even the United 
States, where so much of what is commonly termed nipping 
goes on as in Russia. Probably the extreme cold, to a certain 
extent, permits the inhabitants to take such liberties with their 
stomachs; but the increasing numbers of Russian visitors who 
are each summer to be seen at Carlsbad, and their general com¬ 
plaint—liver—is a good sign that this dram-drinking, if persist¬ 
ed in, eventually sows the seed of disease. 

When I awoke the following morning, it was with a splitting 
headache and a feeling of oppression, which, except when once 
half suffocated by the gas out of a balloon, I can not remember 
to have ever before experienced. It was with a good deal of 
difficulty that I could raise myself from my bed, and, on open¬ 
ing the door of the room and breathing the cold but pure air, 
my legs gave way under me, and, staggering, I fell down. It 
then flashed across my mind that the stove had been shut up 
too soon the previous evening, the consequence being that the 
poisonous gas from the charcoal had escaped into the sleeping- 
apartment. Luckily, however, for myself, the room which- had 
been given me was a large one. The stoves in Russia, though 
admirably arranged so as to keep up a due degree of warmth 
in the house, require considerable care, and any neglect in this 
respect will lead to disagreeable consequences. Indeed, seldom 
does a winter pass without some traveler or other falling a 
victim. 

Later in the day I drove to the house of an American gen¬ 
tleman, a Mr. G-, for whom I had a letter of introduction. 

He received me with the usual hospitality of his nation, and 
promised to do every thing he could to further my views. But 
as for information about the road to Khiva, he could give me 
none. All the news and gossip about Tashkent, Samarcand, 
and the recent disturbances at Kokan he had, so to speak, at 
his fingers’ ends; but Khiva was a sealed book to him, and he 



MR. BEKTCEIOURIN. 


81 


recommended me to call upon a Mr. Bektchourin, a Tartar gen¬ 
tleman, and the Professor of Eastern Languages at the Russian 
Military Academy, who, he said, knew more about the subject 
than any other man in Orenburg. 

On returning to my hotel, the waiter informed me that the 
chief of the police had sent an order that I was to attend the 
police-office immediately. It seemed a little strange his for¬ 
warding me this communication through a servant at the inn, 
and not through some more official channel. However, at once 
obeying the command, I proceeded to the residence of the police- 
officer, and shortly afterward was shown into the chiefs room. 
He held, it appeared, the rank of a colonel in the army, and 
said that he wished to know why I had come to Orenburg. I 
replied that “ I was going to Russian Asiawhen he remark¬ 
ed, “Well, I can not allow you to do this, unless you have per¬ 
mission from the authorities in St. Petersburg. There is a spe¬ 
cial order prohibiting foreigners from traveling in Turkistan.” 
I then showed him the letter I had received from General Mi- 
lutin, which was w r ritten in French. He perused it with diffi¬ 
culty, and to all appearance was not well acquainted with that 
language. He then said, “By what route do you propose to 
go ?” I replied by Kasala, and perhaps from there to Tashkent, 
and so on to Khiva .... anyhow, first of all to Kasala. “ Yes,” 
he said, “ that is your best plan; for there you will be able to 
obtain information which no one can here give you.” From 
the police-office I drove off to call upon Mr. Bektchourin, the 
Tartar gentleman. 

On my ringing the bell, Mr. Bektchourin opened the door 
himself. He was a tall, noble-looking old man, in a long East¬ 
ern dressing-gown, which w r as fastened around his waist wfith a 
sash, while a fez cap on his head betokened an allegiance to the 
faith of Islam. He was a little surprised to see a stranger, but 
courteously invited me to enter his abode; and when I had ex¬ 
plained the object of my visit—which was, first, to know if he 
could give me any information about the route to Khiva, and, 
secondly, if he would recommend me a Tartar servant who could 
speak Russian—he said, “ My good sir, I will do every thing 
I can; but first of all you must drink some tea.,” and a servant 

4 * 


82 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


entering with some glasses of this beverage, Bektchourin, hand¬ 
ing me a cigarette, lighted one himself, and slowly sipped the 
thought-inspiring liquid. 

Presently he remarked, “ First of all, my good sir, as to go¬ 
ing to Khiva, it is winter ; the Syr Darya [Jaxartes] and Amu 
Darya [Oxus] rivers are frozen up. The difficulties and hard¬ 
ships will be immense. You will have to ride on horseback 
over five hundred versts of snow-covered steppes. If it had 
been summer you would have had no difficulty whatever, for, 
once arrived at Kasala, better known as Fort Number One, you 
could have gone in a steamer, and have been landed within a 
few miles of Petro-Alexandrovsk, our fort in Khivan territory, 
without any fatigue or danger. In winter, however, it is very 
different, and I sincerely advise you to give up the idea alto¬ 
gether, or to come back in the summer and then perform the 
journey.” I here remarked that it was not likely that I should 
have taken the trouble to travel even so far as Orenburg in the 
winter without having made up my mind, previously to leaving 
London, as to what my intentions were. “ Quite right, my 
good sir,” continued the kind old gentleman, “ quite right; if 
you mean to go, I will help you; but at the same time it was 
only right of me to say what my opinion is about the matter; 
and indeed,” he added, “ I really can not give you any infor¬ 
mation as to the routes, for at this time of the vear all will de- 
pend upon how much snow has fallen upon the steppes, and 
this you can only find out at Kasala. As to recommending 
you a servant,” he added, “I do not know of one at present, 
but will make every inquiry. Not that I much care about the 
task,” he continued, “for there was an American gentleman 
here not long ago with the secretary of the United States Lega¬ 
tion at St. Petersburg—Messrs. MacGahan and Schuyler were 
their names. I was asked to recommend them a servant, and 
to get them one in twenty-four hours. How* I toiled and 
slaved! My good wife, too, asked all the people of her ac¬ 
quaintance, and we hunted everywhere to find an honest Tartar 
servant; not but that there are plenty of honest Tartars,” he 
added, “ quite as many as Christians, but Mr. Schuyler required 
a man who could speak Russian, and who, to a certain extent, 


FRIENDLY INTEREST OF RUSSIAN OFFICERS. 


83 


was accustomed to European ways. Well, we searched every¬ 
where, and at the last moment a fellow offered himself for the 
situation. I could hear of nothing against his character, and 
the fact was, I had no time to make inquiries. But the next 
thing I heard was that the servant had turned out to be a scoun¬ 
drel, and that Mr. MacGahan, who wrote a very interesting book 
about his journey, had adverted to me in it, and said that I had 
recommended the man. Now, if I get you a servant, perhaps 
you will write a book and say the same as Mr. MacGahan has 
done—that is, if you are not pleased with your servant; but I 
tell you candidly that I can not in any way be responsible for 
his character, although I will do my best to find you an honest 
fellow.” 

No one could have been kinder than Mr. Bektchourin. He 
assured me that he would make every inquiry with reference 
to the object I had in view; while I relieved his mind by 
promising to speak to Mr. MacGahan, so that when another 
edition of “ Campaigning on the Oxus ” came out, Mr. Bek- 
tchourin’s explanation of the circumstances might be appended 
in a note. Probably, on account of the military element in the 
hotel, the newspapers were represented by the Imalid , and, on 
turning over the leaves of an old number of this journal, I came 
across a paragraph which showed the friendly interest the Rus¬ 
sian officer who wrote it evidently took in India. 

It was to the effect that at a late exhibition of maps in Paris, 
the more recent British maps of the Attrek and Afghanistan 
were not to be found, but that an interesting map of the Pun- 
jaub, with all the various march-routes, and which the compiler 
had particularly not intended to be published, was to be seen 
on the expedition. 

The following day I called upon General Bazoulek, the gov¬ 
ernor pro tem, now that Kryjinovsky was away. He was a 
good-looking man of about five-and-forty, and a little pompous 
in his demeanor, for in Kryjinovsky’s absence he was all-pow¬ 
erful at Orenburg, and he duly endeavored to impress upon me 
the importance of his position. He could give me no infor¬ 
mation whatever as to how to go to Khiva, his remark being 
the same stereotyped one repeated ever so many times before; 


84 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


“Yon must go to Kasala, and there you will be able to obtain 
every information.” On inquiry if there was a post to Khiva, 
his answer was, “ I believe so, but I do not know by what route 
it goes.” In fact, the ignorance displayed by all the officials 
with whom I came in contact might have surprised any one 
aware of the great importance attached to the study of geogra¬ 
phy by the Russian military authorities. I could not explain it 
to myself otherwise than by assuming that the real solution of 
the problem consisted in the politeness of the officers, who pre¬ 
ferred being thought ignorant to rude. 


URAL COSSACKS. 


85 


CHAPTER XL 

The Ural Cossacks.—Dissenters.—Two Thousand Five Hundred Men Ban¬ 
ished.— Exiles Flogged. — A Battue.—Reports about General Kauff- 
mann.—The Tzar’s Officers in Turkistan. 

The principal topic of conversation at Orenburg was a re¬ 
cent emeute amidst the Ural Cossacks. It appeared that the 
inhabitants of the town of Uralsk, as also many of the peo¬ 
ple in that neighborhood, had become excessively discontented 
with the military law of universal conscription. Previously to 
the promulgation of the new edict, the better-to-do classes had 
not sent their sons to serve, and the ranks were filled with re¬ 
cruits from the poorer orders. But now all was changed: 
money would no longer purchase a substitute, and grievous dis¬ 
content possessed the minds of the Ural Cossacks. Most of 
them were Raskolniki dissenters from the Greek Church, and 
belonged to the old faith (Staroi vara). When they were or¬ 
dered to send their sons to serve, they rebelled, and openly 
called the emperor Antichrist. This was too much for the 
pious-minded authorities at St. Petersburg, and 2500 of the 
malcontents had been banished from Uralsk to Central Asia, 
while it was said at Orenburg that 2000 more would speedily 
follow. 

The delinquents had been marched from Orenburg to Kasala, 
and from that place it was intended to transport them to Khi- 
van territory. A detachment of 500 had been already sent to 
Nookoos, a small fort recently constructed by the Russians on 
the right bank of the Amu Darya. It appeared that the com¬ 
mander at Kasala had experienced much difficulty with the 
men when he ordered them to march under escort to Nookoos: 
they absolutely refused to stir. At last he ordered them to be 
attached to camels by cords, and then commanded the Oren¬ 
burg Cossacks to flog the prisoners with their whips. This 


8G 


A RIDE TO KIIIVA. 


liad been done with great barbarity, and I was assured that 
three of the victims had died under the lash. The comman¬ 
dant of Kasala had written to St. Petersburg to know what 
was to be done with the remainder of the exiles. 

G-now informed me of a battue which had taken place 

by orders of Kryjinovsky a few weeks previous to my arrival, 
with the object of destroying some wolves, which had been do¬ 
ing a vast amount of damage in the neighborhood. Several 
miles of country had been inclosed by beaters, who gradually 
reduced the circle. However, the wolves proved too much 
for the sportsmen, as the latter were not able to bag a single 
animal. 

I must say I had become rather skeptical as to the existence 
of these carnivorous beasts—that is to say, in any large quanti¬ 
ties: I had now traveled over five hundred versts of countrv, 
and had not seen or heard a single one. That there were wolves 
I did not deny, but was inclined to believe that both their num¬ 
bers and depredations were much exaggerated. 

Kauffmann, the Governor-general of Turkistan, was said to 
have sent for two more regiments from European Russia, and 
they were to be dispatched to Turkistan immediately, he him¬ 
self being now on his road to St. Petersburg; and people in 
Orenburg said that he was not in very good favor at court, for 
having pushed the Russian arms farther in Central Asia than 
had been either the wish or intention of the emperor. It was 
declared that the Tzar himself was very much opposed to this 
system of annexation in the East, and had only been induced to 
permit it on the representations of his generals that they were 
surrounded by lawless tribes, who carried off and imprisoned 
Russian subjects. 

It is easy to make a good case if the counsel for the plaintiff 
is the only one heard. The Kokandians and Khivans have not 
had the opportunity of putting forward their side of the ques¬ 
tion, so, as is naturally to be supposed, the Russian generals have 
invariably carried the day. Indeed, we can not wonder at the 
Tzar’s officers in Turkistan being so eager to continue in their 
line of conquest. Taken for the most part from poor but well¬ 
born families, having no inheritance but the sword, no prospect 



A CIVILIZED NEIGHBOR. 


8 1 


save promotion, they thirst for war as the only means at hand 
for rapidly rising in the service. A life in Central Asia in time 
of peace is looked upon with contempt; and with every thing 
to he gained by war and nothing by peace, we ought not to be 
surprised should every little pretext be sought for to provoke 
reprisals on the part of the native population. Europe then 
hears of the cruelties committed by the brutal fanatics in Cen¬ 
tral Asia, of Russian magnanimity, and of Mohammedan intol¬ 
erance. 

Exeter Hall is quieted by the idea of a crusade against the 
Mussulmans; the lust for conquest is cloaked in a garb called 
Christianity ; the sword and the Bible go forth together. Thou¬ 
sands of the natives are mown down by that evangelical weap¬ 
on, the breech-loader; and one day we read in our morning 
newspapers that a territory larger than France and England to¬ 
gether has been added to the Tzar’s dominions. 

But it does not signifv, observe some of our legislators; the 
sooner Russia and India touch each other, the better. How 
much better for India to have a Russian neighbor on her front¬ 
ier instead of the barbarous Afghans! Russia herself is ap¬ 
parently well aware of the advantage of having civilized neigh¬ 
bors on her western frontier; as it is, on that frontier she is 
obliged to keep concentrated two-thirds of her available forces. 
People in this country who advocate the two empires touching 
are not, perhaps, aware that our Indian army would then have to 
be increased to three times its present strength, and in spite of 
that precaution there would be less security for ourselves. 

It now wanted only two days to Christmas. I had already 
been four days in Orenburg, and, as far as I could see, was as 
far off as ever from obtaining a servant. Getting into my sleigh, 
I hurried off to the house of mv friend Bektchourin. I found 
him, as usual, clad in his dressing-gown; but this time he was 
not alone, for several Easterns were sharing his hospitality and 
imbibing large glasses of strong green tea, which, I was told, is 
the kind most appreciated in Central Asia. 

It was fortunate that I had called at that hour, for it gave me 
the opportunity of making the acquaintance of the Khan of 
Kokan, formerly a sovereign, but now an exile far from his 


88 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


own country, and detained in European Russia by the order of 
the Tzar. He was a swarthy, strong-built fellow. His cap¬ 
tivity did not seem to have pressed much on his soul. He had 
readily adopted European customs, and had actually gone so far 
as to give a ball. This I was informed had been a great suc¬ 
cess, many of the fair damsels in Orenburg having attended it; 
while a wicked report ran to the effect that a great competition 
was going on among certain of the ladies with the view of con¬ 
verting the handsome khan to the Greek faith, and so on to 
matrimony according to the Russian rites; but, taking into con¬ 
sideration a Mohammedan’s innate horror of idols or image- 
worship, and that the khan is already blessed with four wives, 
this would seem rather a hopeless task. However, every thing 
might be gained in the event of success, and a union with the 
convert would, it was said, not be displeasing to some of the less 
favored fair ones of Orenburg. Fabulous reports of his wealth 
were spread about the town, and great delight was evinced in 
every quarter on its being announced that he had elected to 
live in Orenburg, and was about to purchase a house in the 
neighborhood, having been prompted to take this step by his 
friendship with Mr. Bektchourin, and General Kryjinovsky, the 
governor of the province. According to my Tartar acquaint¬ 
ance, the khan’s wealth had been much exaggerated, and he 
was not by any means the Croesus he had been represented. On 
leaving Kokan, he had taken with him a large quantity of treas¬ 
ure in gold and silver specie, but had been robbed on the road; 
while at the time of which I write he had only 120,000 rubles 
—about £15,000 of our money—not much in the eyes of an 
English match-maker, but a glittering bait to the husband-seek¬ 
ing dames of Orenburg. 

Bektchourin now said that he had discovered a Bokharan 
who would accompany me as a servant; and that the man could 
speak Russian, Tartar, and Persian, and would be very useful as 
an interpreter. 

However, later on B-came to the hotel, and with a long 

face informed me that he did not think the fellow would suit; 
that Mrs. Bektchourin had been making inquiries, and had dis¬ 
covered that the Bokharan’s papa and mamma smoked opium, 



89 


AN AGED MOTHER. 

while it was currently rumored that their son partook of his 
parents’ taste. An opium-smoker as a servant would have been 
an intolerable nuisance. In consequence of this, Mr. Bektchou- 
rin had brought with him a young Russian, who had been a 

O v O ' 

clerk in a counting-office, and could speak Tartar. He was ready 
to accompany me. However, I discovered that his idea was to 
travel as an equal, and that he had no intention to act as a serv¬ 
ant ; in fact, he had so great an idea of his own importance 
that I felt that the Bokharan, opium and all, would have been 
more eligible as an attendant. 

What w r as to be done? I began to think that I might as 
well search for the philosopher’s stone as for a servant in Oren¬ 
burg. But B- was by no means disheartened. “ I will 

find one,” he said, “ never fearand a few hours later another 
candidate for the post turned up in the shape of a man who 
had already been to Tashkent with Mr. David Ker. He in¬ 
formed me that Mr. Bektchourin had sent him to the inn, and 
that Mrs. Bektchourin had lent him five rubles to take his pass¬ 
port out of pawn, a Jew having previously advanced some mon¬ 
ey on this document. As the Tartar appeared a likely sort of 
fellow, I agreed to accept his services, twenty-five rubles a 
month being the wages, and all found. 

“Perhaps, one of noble birth,” said the man, “you would 
not object to give me two months’ wages on account ? I have 
an aged mother, and should like to leave a little money to sup¬ 
port her during my absence.” Filial affection is undeniably a 
good trait in a man’s character. I was delighted; I had se¬ 
cured a prodigy. I blessed Bektchourin, who had sent me 
such a paragon of virtue, and I gave the servant the money, he 
promising to return to the hotel early the following morning. 
The difficulties of the journey seemed half over already, and I 
went to bed convinced that at last I was in a fair way to make 
a start. 

Hope told a flattering tale: I awoke the next morning at 
about five o’clock, and commenced my preparations. How¬ 
ever, no man arrived, and a few hours later I rang the bell for 
the head waiter of the inn. 

“ Did you see the servant I engaged yesterday ?” 



90 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


“Yes, one of noble birth, I saw him.” 

“Why has he not come here this morning? He was to have 
been here at six.” 

“ Perhaps, one of noble birth, you gave him some money ?” 

“Yes,” was my reply, “for his bedridden mother.” 

An irrepressible grin caused the lantern jaws of the head 
waiter to open from ear to ear; a cavernous mouth was dis¬ 
closed ; a few yellow teeth bristling at irregular intervals in the 
huge recess appeared to take their share in his amusement, for, 
unrolling a long tongue, he caressed the stumpy fangs and 
licked his lips with an air of the greatest possible enjoyment. 

“ His bedridden mother! Hee! hee ! hee! Oh, the son of 
an animal!” and the tears poured down the fellow’s face as 
he became convulsed with laughter. “You will not see him 
again,” he continued, “ until he has spent the money: he has 
gone to kootit ” (drink and make merry, the acme of a Rus¬ 
sian’s happiness). “ Oh, the cunning pigeon !” and the head 
waiter left the room, evidently much delighted at the way I 
had been taken in by his countryman. At first I could hardly 
bring myself to believe in the waiter’s version of the matter 
—the delinquent had such an honest-looking countenance, and 
my vanity was somewhat insulted at the idea of my having 
been so duped. No ; it was more likely that he would turn up 
later. Comforting my mind as well as I could with this re¬ 
flection, I went out to purchase some provisions for my journey 
with my friend G-, who, like myself, thought that the fel¬ 

low would probably come to the hotel in the afternoon. 



PROVISION SUPPLIES. 


91 


CHAPTER XII. 

A Supply of Provisions.—A Grocer’s Shop.—An Elastic Piece of Goods.— 
Schuyler and MacGahan.—A Russian Bank.—Gold and Paper.—Coutts’s 
Circular Xotes.—Cox’s Letter of Credit.—What is the Paper Value of a 
Half-imperial ?—Russia on the Verge of Bankruptcy.—A Dinner Party. 
—German Military Raihvay Carriages.—The Russian Railway Gauge.— 
Christmas-dav.—The Chief of the Police.—An Intelligent Thief-catch¬ 
er.—A Podorojnaya.—Arrival of the Prisoner.—“ Women, Women !— 
there were two with him.” 

G-, though he was an American citizen, a man of the 

world in its fullest sense, and had traveled from the States to 
Orenburg, was not an efficient adviser with reference to the 
supply of provisions required by a traveler. Indeed, if I had 
taken my friend’s advice I should have bought the contents of 
nearly every shop in Orenburg. The grocers looked delighted 

as G-put aside tin after tin of preserved meats. At last I 

was obliged to remonstrate, “ So! many thanks, but how can 
I carry them ?” 

“ Carry them!” continued my imperturbable friend; “ a 
sleigh is the most elastic piece of goods I know; it will stretch 
to any amount. Schuyler and MacGahan took a great deal 
more. I am only just beginning ; we will go to another store 
presently. These sweet lozenges — they are excellent; try 
some;” and to the grocer, “Put four pounds of this chocolate 
aside, and some pickles too—delicious; a few bottles—very 
good. Now then, about candles and spirits for cooking, and 
a cooking apparatus, and a lamp. You had better have some 
carpenter’s tools, in case the sleigh breaks, and lots of stout 
cord and nails. A carpet would be also a good thing to take 
to sit down upon; and some wine and spirits to present to the 
Russian officers. They like wine, and although you don’t 
drink yourself, they do: just a dozen or so,” he added, with a 
supplicating glance. “ Well, as jkhi like—but it would be beh 




A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


92 


ter. Then you must have presents for the natives — a few 
looking-glasses and ornaments. You will find them very use¬ 
ful.” 

It was really necessary to make a stand of some sort against 
my good-intentioned companion, who, not accustomed to travel 
himself, evidently thought that the entire contents of an .up¬ 
holsterer’s or grocer’s shop were indispensable requisites for a 
journey on the steppes. 

“ I tell you what it is,” I observed, “ I shall not take a quar¬ 
ter of the things which you have put aside for me, and certain¬ 
ly not purchase any more. It was as much as I could do to 
stow myself away in my sleigh when traveling without a serv¬ 
ant from Samara here; and the vehicle would never hold half 
these things, which are for the most part quite unnecessary.” 

“Not at all,” said my acquaintance, giving vent to his feel¬ 
ings by squirting some tobacco-juice on the floor. “Not at all. 
Schuyler and MacGahan had two sleighs. Capital; the thing 
is settled.” Then, to the shop-man : “A few pounds of cocoa. 
I shall soon have finished,” he added. 

It was useless arguing with him, and the only thing to be 
done was to allow the shop-man to put aside the different ar¬ 
ticles, and to say that I would call another day, select what I 
wanted, and then pay the bill. 

I now proceeded to the bank, as the amount of Russian gold, 
in half - imperials, which I brought from St. Petersburg was 
more than would be required for my journey. The money 
was very heavy and cumbersome as carried in my waist-belt, 
and so I determined to convert a certain proportion of the 
precious metal into bank-notes. There is a curious circum¬ 
stance in connection with the paper currency in Russia which 
is not generally known by foreigners. On the face of every 
note is printed the following announcement: “ The bank will 
pay the owner, on demand, the amount of rubles stamped on 
the paper in either gold or silver.” A most just and excellent 
arrangement if it were only carried out; but, on the contrary, 
it is extremely difficult to obtain gold in Russia, and during my 
stay at St. Petersburg I had to wait nearly an hour at Vene- 
kin’s bank while the clerk w£s sent out to buy half-imperials. 


GOLD AND PAPER. 


93 


Finally, I had to pay six rubles eighteen copecks for each coin, 
the value stamped on it being five rubles, fifteen copecks. On 
my going to the Government Bank at Orenburg and inquiring 
if I could change some half-imperials into paper, the cashier 
declined to give more than five rubles seventy-five copecks for 
each piece. I would not accept those terms, and went to the 
Commercial Bank, the cashier here offering six rubles. On my 
producing some English sovereigns he greatly admired them, 
and said that they were very beautiful, but refused to give me 
any rubles in exchange, unless I would first pay the cost of a 
telegram to the head of the firm in St. Petersburg, so as to in¬ 
quire what price he would give. I then discovered that no one 
else in Orenburg would change the sovereigns on any terms 
whatever, and so had to accept these conditions. 

The following day'I was informed that the Commercial Bank 
would change my English gold, though at a much lower rate 
than that which I had received at St. Petersburg. After the 
difficulties experienced with the sovereigns, it can easily be im¬ 
agined that the cashier did not look with much respect upon 
Coutts’s circular notes, or upon a letter of credit from Cox & 
Co., the well - known bankers and army agents in Craig’s 
Court. The bills might just as well have been waste paper in 
so far as the official was concerned; and when I told him that 
the paper of these two English bankers was looked upon in 
London as being as good as gold, the clerk shook his head, and 
evidently did not believe me. 

In spite of the amount of silver which is supposed to be 
found in Russia, there is a great deficiency of this metal in the 
banks. The cashiers object to pay any one more than five 
rubles, or fourteen shillings, in silver pieces, and confine their 
business almost exclusively to paper notes. When a Russian 
is about to leave Orenburg for a long drive by post, and a sup¬ 
ply of silver is absolutely necessary, he has to send different 
people as commissioners to the bank: each man will then re¬ 
ceive five rubles’ worth of silver, and in this manner the trav¬ 
eler can eventually get sufficient small change for his journey. 
Indeed, without a certain supply of silver coin it is almost im¬ 
possible to travel in Russia, the station inspectors hardly ever 


94 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


having any change. The amount of paper in circulation 
throughout the Tzar’s dominions is somewhat startling to a 
foreigner; and if the financial prosperity of a nation pan be 
gauged by the amount of gold it possesses, Russia must be on 
the verge of bankruptcy. 

In the evening I dined with a party of Russian officers, 
among others the chief of the telegraphs at Orenburg. The 
conversation turned on the chance of any immediate rupture 
with Germany; and one of the guests assured me that it 
would be impossible for a German army to make use of its own 
railway-carriages on the Russian lines, as the gauge has been 
made purposely of a different width to that employed in Ger¬ 
many and Austria. However, another of the party here re¬ 
marked that, according to a recent account, the Prussians had 
got over this difficulty, an engineer officer having invented a 
system for building carriages and engines by which the wheels 
can be made to fit any kind of line, and that if this statement 
were true a German advance would not necessarily be impeded 
on account of the difference of gauge. The telegraph official 
was very inquisitive, and asked a great many questions about 

my journey, finally stating to G-, “You may depend upon 

it, we shall never see him again. He has been sent out by his 
Government, and when he has done what they want, he will re¬ 
turn, but not by this road.” 

It was Christmas-day. I had been exactly twenty-five days 
on my journey—enough time to go from London to New 
York and back—and was still no farther on my road than 
Orenburg. All of a sudden Mr. Bektchourin was announced, 
his first question being, “ Have you seen the servant ?” “ Yes,” 
was my reply, “ not only seen him, but engaged him, and given 
in advance fifty rubles, on account of his bedridden mother. 
He was to have been here yesterday morning at six, but he has 
not turned up.” 

“Oh, the dove!” said Mr. Bektchourin; “oh, the cunning 
little scoundrel! You do not know how he has deceived my 
wife. He came to her in my absence, and said that he had 
seen me, and then persuaded her to lend him five rubles to 
take his passport out of pawn. She gave him the money, and 



THE CHIEF OF THE POLICE. 


95 


lie has bolted with it. Oh, the cunning one!” — and Mr. 
Bektchourin shook his fist with rage—“ but we will catch him. 
His little back shall smart. My dear sir, I will go to the po¬ 
lice ;” and the good man hurried off as fast as he could in that 
direction. 

Later on I called on the same authorities, and was fortunate 
enough to find Colonel Dreir, the Chief of the Force at Oren¬ 
burg. He informed me that Mr. Bektchourin had been al¬ 
ready there, and that the case was in the hands of Sergeant 
Solovef, the most intelligent of the thief-catchers in the dis¬ 
trict. As he uttered these words, the colonel touched a bell, 
and desired the servant to summon the sergeant. 

A moment afterward the latter stood before us. He was a 
stout-built fellow, with a firm, resolute mouth, and a hawk-like 
nose and eye. He saluted in the military fashion, and re¬ 
mained at attention, standing stiff and erect before his chief. 

“You have heard of this English gentleman who has been 
robbed by a Tartar servant?” 

“ I have heard.” 

“ The rogue must be caught.” 

“ I will catch him.” 

“The money must be got back.” 

“ The money shall be got back—if he has not spent it,” mut¬ 
tered the sergeant. 

“ Immediately.” 

“ Immediately.” 

“ Go at once,” said the colonel. 

“ I obey,” was the answer; and the sergeant, swinging round 
on his heel, saluted, and left the room. 

The difficulties of obtaining a servant at Orenburg seemed 
to be so great that I made up my mind not to delay a day 
longer on that account, but to go alone on my travels—at all 
events, so far as Kasala. Once there, I could try again, and see 
whether in that part of the world an honest Tartar was such a 
rara avis as in Orenburg. In the mean time, Colonel Dreir 
gave me an order for a podorojnaya as far as Fort Number 
One (Kasala), and told me to go to the Kaznacheistvo, or 
Treasury, where the necessary document could be obtained. 


96 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


On receiving the pass, I found that it was worded as fol¬ 
lows : 

BY THE ORDER OF 

HIS MAJESTY THE EMPEROR ALEXANDER, 

The Sox of Nicholas, 

AUTOCRAT OF THE WHOLE OF RUSSIA, 
etc., etc. 

From the town of Orsk to the town of Kasala, to the Captain of the En¬ 
glish service, Frederick, the son of Gustavus Burnaby, to give three horses, 
with a driver, for the legal fare, without delay. Given in the town of 
Orenburg, 15th Dec., 1875. 

I had barely returned to my hotel, when Bektcliourin was 
again announced; and while we were drinking some tea, the 
clashing of a sword-scabbard on the staircase, and a considera¬ 
ble noise and clamor going on outside, warned us that some¬ 
thing unusual was occurring. The head waiter now entered 
the room. His face wore a look of intense importance, coupled 
with admiration for something he had seen. He was evidently 
bursting to impart to me a startling piece of news; and if he 
had been an English groom, I sliould have thought that my 
best horse had broken his leg. 

“Well, what is it?” I inquired. “Is the house on fire, or 
your wife dead?” “No, one of noble birth, they have caught 
him.” “What! the thief?” cried Bektchourin. “Yes; the 
sergeant has him outside. The rogue is weeping; the serv¬ 
ants are all looking on — the lodgers too: they all know that 
he is caught. It is grand; praise be to God! May the ser¬ 
geant bring him in ?” “ By all means,” I said. A moment 

later the door opened, and the delinquent was precipitated into 
the room. 

The sergeant followed. His mien was imposing. He took 
two short steps, then a long one, advanced to the side of the 
prisoner, placed his left hand on the culprit’s shoulder, and sa¬ 
luted majestically with the right. It was a comical gathering 
—the servants in the room, their hair bristling with awe; the 
lodgers outside, eager to know what was the matter; the head 
waiter wiping his perspiring forehead with a table-napkin — 


ARREST OF THE THIEF. 


97 


which he had brought me as a substitute for a towel—his huge 
mouth extended from ear to ear, and alternately opening and 
shutting with astonishment; the prisoner pleading for mercy ; 
the sergeant erect and consequential; while Bektchourin, who 
was more excited than I could have believed it possible for an 
Oriental to become, was shaking his fist in the culprit’s face. 
“ So they have caught you, brother! Ah! my little pigeon, 
you have come back ! So you wanted to throw discredit on 
our race! Oh, you dear one ! But now, stick, stick, stick! 
you shall have it! Ah, my love, you may cry!” as the prison¬ 
er groaned at the allusion to the whipping in store for him. 
“ But the money, sergeant, the money—what has he done with 
'it ? and where did you catch him ?” 

The policeman was not gifted with the same command of 
language as his interrogator; and to gain time to collect his 
thoughts, he once more saluted, then jerked out, “ He spent 
twenty-five rubles in drink—there are twenty-five here. Wom¬ 
en, women — there were two with him !” and, having disbur¬ 
dened himself of this statement, the sergeant produced the 
money he had taken from the culprit, and laid it on the table. 
“ For the sake of Heaven, pardon me!” cried the prisoner, go¬ 
ing down on his knees, and trying to kiss Bektchourin’s feet; 
“but I drank, she drank, we all drank. I will return the 
money.” 

“ Very well,” said Bektchourin. “ First of all, the money, 
and then we will take into consideration the whipping; so re¬ 
move him, sergeant, and see if he is able to make good the de¬ 
ficiency.” 


5 


08 


A UIDU TO KIIIVA. 


CHAPTER XIII. 

A Sheep-skin Suit.—Servant Hunting.—A Tartar Dwarf.—Nazar.—Pack¬ 
ing the Sleigh.—Kirghiz Camels.—Ural Mountains.—Krasnogorsk.— 
Bouran.—Off the Track.—Harness broken.—Driver loses his Way.— 
Nazar Famished.—Keeping Awake under Difficulties.—The Rescue.— 
Nazar’s Culinary Composition.—Benighted Travelers.—The Courier.— 
An Officer and his Wife.—The Doctor.—Bleeding.—Curiosity.—Tropical 
Heat or Extreme Cold, which is the Worst to Bear? 

The excitement created in the household by the prisoner’s 

arrival having calmed down, I set out with my friend G- 

to see if I could purchase a sheep - skin suit, such as is worn 
by the Russian peasantry. In the mean time, Bektcliourin very 
good-naturedly went off in search of a servant. “ I must get 
you one,” he said. “You shall not go alone. It shall not be 
said that there is not one honest Tartar servant in Orenburg.” 

G- drove me to a street mainly inhabited by dealers in 

sheep-skin. On entering one of the shops, we were nearly 
compelled to beat a retreat, owing to the smell. A few years 
ago the Thames, on a hot summer’s afternoon and at low wa¬ 
ter, had a bouquet peculiarly its own, and one which startled 
the olfactory nerves; but the odor in this little Russian shop 
was infinitely more disgusting. The sheep-skins were in every 
stage of preparation. The heat thrown out by a large drying- 
stove was very great, and only the absolute necessity of order¬ 
ing some warm clothes forced me to remain for an instant in 
the establishment. The things I had brought from St. Peters¬ 
burg were of no use for the journey on horseback. The shuba 
or pelisse, which reached to my feet, would not have been suit¬ 
able attire when I was in the saddle, and sheep-skin garments, 
in spite of their disagreeable smell, are much the warmest 
clothes that can be worn. I was measured for a riding-coat, 
the wool to be worn inside, for some trousers of the same ma¬ 
terial, and for a pair of high stockings, or rather buckets, also 




A TARTAR DWARF- NAZAR. 


99 


made of sheep-skin. These last would be drawn on over four 
pairs of fishing stockings, and in their turn he encased in some 
high cloth boots—experience had already taught me that any 
leather about the feet is a mistake—and when my new clothes 
were put on over those which had been made for me in Lon¬ 
don, I thought myself proof against any amount of frost. 

In the evening Bektchourin returned to the hotel, accompa¬ 
nied by a Tartar, the most diminutive of his race, and certainly 
not five feet high. I was informed that he was of noble birth, 
his father having been an officer in the Russian army; but the 
family was poor, and Nazar—this was his name—liked traveling 
and adventure. The man expressed himself as ready to do any 
thing and go anywhere. He said that he never drank. I 
found out that he could speak Russian very well, and also the 
Kirghiz dialect. Bektchourin said that he could answer for 
the fellow’s honesty; and as he wanted fifty rubles on account, 
to leave with his wife, I agreed to advance this amount, though 
with a slight feeling of hesitation, after the way I had been 
taken in by the man with the aged mother. The money was 
paid. Bektchourin, embracing me, said good-bye, and it was 
agreed that the servant should come to the inn the following 
morning, when we would start on our travels. 

Long before day-break I was up making preparations, and 
by the time the Tartar arrived I had packed up most of the 
provisions. And then came the tug of war, for there were the 
servant, sleigh, horses, and luggage; but how on earth to put 
the luggage into the vehicle, and afterward to find room for 
my legs—this was a problem which it appeared impossible to 
solve. 

Nazar first arranged the parcels in one manner and then in 
another, but all to no purpose. At last, the inventive genius 
of the head waiter came to the rescue, when, by firmly tying 
some of the provision-boxes to the edges of the sleigh, there 
was sufficient space left for me to sit down. Fortunately my 
servant was a dwarf, his personal luggage being adapted to his 
stature. Balancing himself on the top of the gun-case and 
saddle-bags, he looked round for orders. “Off!” I cried; and 
away we galloped down the principal street of Orenburg, es- 


100 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


corted by the good wishes and farewells of the inmates of the 
hotel. 

A biting east wind, but a bright clear atmosphere, and in a 
few moments I was driving along the river Oural. Every now 
and then we encountered a caravan of camels drawing sleighs 
laden with cotton from Tashkent. Any one only accustomed 
to the camels of the Libyan sands would hardly recognize any 
affinity between the undersized and shaggy animals with lion¬ 
like manes which are met with in the steppes, and the huge 
sleek “ ships of the desert ” to be found in the African Sahara. 
Nature has supplied the Kirghiz camels with every requisite 
for resisting a bitterly cold clime, and the hardy beasts could 
be seen striding through the snow where it was four feet deep, 
and where horses would have been of no avail. Here a Cossack 
galloped by us, brandishing his long spear as he quickly van¬ 
ished in the distance; and then we met some Kirghiz wander¬ 
ers, their ruddy faces—red as lobsters—offering a striking con¬ 
trast to the sallow-visaged Russians I had left behind. 

I must say I congratulated myself on the purchase of the 
sheep-skin clothes. In the keen air which surrounded us it 
was impossible to perceive the slightest smell, and for the first 
time during my sleigh journey I was feeling tolerably warm. 
We arrived at the station-house in capital time. In less than 
ten minutes fresh post-horses were harnessed, and I was again 
en route. Nothing could have been more uninteresting than 
the country through which we were traveling; naught but a 
bleak white plain, save for the low ridge of Ural mountains 
which, lying far away on our left, slightly broke the monotony 
of the scene. 

Three stations had been left behind us; I had determined 
to put another stage—Krasnogorsk—between myself and Oren¬ 
burg. Nazar was a little famished: he had started without 
any breakfast, and a delighted expression passed over his coun¬ 
tenance when I announced to him my intention of halting a 
short time at Krasnogorsk. 

“ Excellent milk there,” he remarked, at the same time 
smacking his lips; “ eggs, too. Please God, we will stop.” 

I was myself beginning to experience a sensation of emptb 


101 


“ BOURAN.” 

ness in my inner man; the glass of tea and rusk I had swal¬ 
lowed before leaving Orenburg were not very staying condi¬ 
ments, and I desired the driver to hurry on as fast as possible. 
However, the old proverb, “ The more haste the less speed,” 
proved, alas! to be a true one. 

The afternoon was drawing to a close, and the golden orb 
could be seen dimly descending in the far-off west, when I be¬ 
came aware, by the numerous exclamations of my Tartar driv¬ 
er, principally consisting, as I afterward ascertained, of strong- 
expressions, that he was not at all contented with his horses. 
At starting, I had remarked upon their appearance. They 
were as thin as laths, or, as Jorrocks would have said, “ as her¬ 
ring-gutted as greyhounds,” the ribs of the animal in the shafts 
looking as if they might at any moment pierce the skin. The 
driver had harnessed his beasts in what the Russians call goose 
fashion, that is to say, one in the shafts and the other two as 
leaders. His short whip, with lash some twelve feet long, and 
which previously he had allowed to trail behind the sleigh, was 
now continually in the air, while the thong, thick as my wrist 
at the handle end, resounded from the flanks of the overtaxed 
animals—sounds like pistol-shots breaking the deep stillness of 
the snowy waste. 

In answer to the question as to what was the matter, the 
one Avord “ Bouran ” was his answer; and by the way the 
gradually rising gale was beginning to drift the snow across 
our path, it became evident that we were about to encounter a 
heavy storm. 

Presently the atmosphere became denser with flaky particles, 
the cold becoming more and more intense. The last rays of 
the setting sun had disappeared from view, and, in spite of all 
my wraps, I began to feel the first insidious onslaught of the 
elements. 

Darker and darker grew the shades around, till at last I could 
barely distinguish the driver’s back; and my little Tartar serv¬ 
ant, perched like a monkey at his side, informed me, in a mel¬ 
ancholy tone, that we had lost our way. It was the case. We 
Avere off the track, while our Avearied animals, up to their flanks 
and breast-deep in the snoAv, were vainly endeavoring to ploAV 


102 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


a passage forward. A final effort, caused by the pitiless lash 
of our driver’s whip, and the goaded steeds burst through the 
barrier. Up and down went the sleigh, bounding wildly over 
the treacherous furrow, till at last one of the horses stumbled 
and fell, breaking his rope harness, and bringing us to a dead 
halt. 

Our team had collapsed, that w T as evident, and the driver 
seemed to have equally succumbed, for he left off swearing, 
and his whip, which up to that moment had never ceased 
cracking, lay stretched out behind the vehicle. He got off the 
seat, and, having with difficulty succeeded in raising the fallen 
animal, jumped on his back and made a vide cast round, in the 
hope of discovering the track. 

“ I am starving,” said my little Tartar, in a melancholy tone: 
“I had no breakfast—my belt is very loose;” and, suiting the 
action to the w r ords, he commenced tightening the strap round 
his waist, in order the better to resist the wolf inside. I had 
some bread and chocolate in my pocket, and, dividing it with 
him, we stopped for a while the pangs of hunger. 

In about an hours’ time the driver returned, and in a mourn¬ 
ful tone informed me that he had lost his way, that we must 
sleep out, and that in all probability we should be frozen. Not 
a pleasant piece of intelligence, with the thermometer below 
zero, and a hurricane searing the face as if it were vdtli a red- 
hot iron if we exposed the smallest piece of skin to its on¬ 
slaught ; while the flakes, drifting higher and higher around the 
sleigh, threatened, if the storm continued much longer, to bury 
us alive. 

There w r as no wood in the neighborhood — nothing with 
which w r e could make a fire—and the sleeping-sack, w r hich I at 
once thought of, proved useless, owing to the small size of the 
aperture. We had no shovel to make a snow house, and there 
was naught to do save to sit it out the life-long night. 

My hands and feet first began to smart, and the nails to ache 
as if they w T ere being scorched over a fire — a nasty burning, 
gnawing sensation which eat into the joints and then died 
away in a dull feeling of indescribable numbness which seized 
all the limbs. The pain was considerable, although it did not 


KEEPING AWAKE UNDER DIFFICULTIES. 


103 


amount to that agony experienced from severe frost-bites, and 
which I had to undergo later on in the journey. A heavy 
weight seemed to bear me down, and I dozed off for a second, 
till aroused once more to the reality of existence by the groan¬ 
ing of my little servant. He was murmuring something to 
himself in a low tone, but not one word of complaint ever es¬ 
caped his lips. 

I desired him to get inside, and, giving the Tartar coachman 
all the furs that could be spared, we pulled ourselves together, 
as it is commonly termed, strung our nerves for the occasion, 
and determined not to go to sleep. 

There was now no more pain, and my thoughts began to 
wander to far-off places, while well-known faces came and look¬ 
ed at me, then flitted away in the waste, and were replaced by 
well-spread banquet-halls, laden with viands which vanished as 
in my dream I strove to partake. It was over, and I was lost 
to consciousness, when I was suddenly aroused by a sharp tap 
on my elbow, and a violent shaking from the hands of my fol¬ 
lower. “ Do not close your eyes, sir,” he said, “ or you will 
never open them again.” 

It was a hard task making the effort, but it was done, and 
presently I had, in my turn, to keep him from succumbing to 
the cold. All this time the driver was uttering some grunting 
exclamations from beneath the snow, which my slight knowl¬ 
edge of the Tartar language did not allow me to comprehend; 
loud, hoarse sounds and ejaculations blurting forth at intervals 
and breaking the stillness of the night, for the wind had fallen, 
and a dead silence reigned around. 

“ What is he doing?” I inquired of my servant; “ is he pray¬ 
ing ?” 

“ No, sir,” was the reply; “ he is only lamenting his fate, 
and swearing at the horses for having brought us into this 
plight.” 

So the night wore on, and those only who have laid on a 
sick-bed, and heard the endless tick of the clock as the hands 
go round the dial, can tell how glad we were when the first 
faint streak of color in the far-off east warned us that the day 
was breaking. We then pulled out the driver from beneath 


104 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


his cold, white canopy, and found him, though very stiff, oth¬ 
erwise not much the worse for his night’s lodging. He shook 
the snow from off his furs, and then, stretching himself two 
or three times to see if his joints were all right, proceeded to 
mount one of the horses, and said that he would ride off to the 
next station for help. This he did, making his way as best 
he could to the road, now distant from us nearly a mile, at 
times disappearing from our gaze as horse and rider struggled 
through the piled-up snowy ridges. 

An hour sped by, and yet another, but there was no longer 
any danger in seeking sleep, and at midday I was aroused by 
a friendly pressure from the hand of a farmer, who had been 
summoned to our assistance by the driver. 

“ Well, brother,” said the jolly, round-faced old countryman, 
“ cheer up : we have arrived in time, praise be to God!” “ Now, 

then, children,” to some of his laborers who had come with 
him, and who were provided with spades and shovels, “dig out 
the sleigh.” This was soon done, a well-earned remunera¬ 
tion bestowed on the kind-hearted peasants, when with three 
fresh horses we soon regained the road, and, an hour later, 
the station. 

It had been a slow journey, for we had taken twenty-one 
hours to go eighteen miles; however, we were fortunate in not 
having lost something else besides time; and a little while aft¬ 
er our arrival, having partaken of a strange culinary composi¬ 
tion of Nazar’s, made of rice, eggs, and chocolate, boiled in 
milk over a spirit-lamp—this strange mixture proving, in our 
ravenous state, the most savory of dishes—I felt myself once 
more in working order, and ready to start. 

My bad luck still continued: the Fates were again unfavora¬ 
ble ; for, on arriving at the next station, I found congregated 
there four passengers, all prevented from traveling by a snow¬ 
storm. Among them was the carrier with the mail from Oren¬ 
burg to Tashkent, a short, thick-set, sturdy-looking fellow, with 
a revolver at his waist, and a determined, dare-devil expression 
on his countenance; not the sort of fellow that any Kirghiz 
or Tartar marauders would be likely to get the better of in an 
encounter. 


BENIGHTED TRAVELERS. 


105 


lie told me that the storm was very great, and it was use¬ 
less attempting to go forward for the present, as if he were to 
do so he certainly would be benighted on the road, and very 
likely be frozen. The wind, according to him, was the main 
difficulty; for, cutting against the horses’ faces, it caused them 
so much pain that the poor beasts could not face it, and this, 
he said, was the reason that travelers found themselves so con¬ 
stantly driving off the track. 

Then came an officer and his young wife, who were returning 
to St. Petersburg from Tashkent, the lady looking little capa¬ 
ble of resisting the rough life she would have to lead before 
reaching the railway at Sizeran. They had a comfortable, close 
sleigh, arranged with every requisite for keeping the travelers 
protected from the elements, but, in spite of this, the lady, who 
unfortunately looked in a delicate state of health, had suffered 
a great deal in the journey. 

Notwithstanding all the precautions which had been taken, she 
found it impossible to keep her feet warm, the circulation in her 
extremities being sometimes quite checked by the cold wind 
which penetrated to the bones through carriage, wraps, and all. 

Another benighted traveler was a doctor on his way to visit 
a patient, who lived in a village about fifty miles farther on the 
road. The sick man’s residence "was situated miles from a phy¬ 
sician, and he had to send all the way to Orenburg for medical 
assistance. It appeared that he was suffering from a violent 
quinsy, or sore throat, an illness which is exceedingly rapid in 
its effects. The dispatch for the doctor had been sent off eight 
days previous, and probably when the son of Esculapius arrived 
he would find that the invalid had either recovered entirely or 
had been buried in the family vault. The medical gentleman 
had come away without any caustic, and eagerly inquired if any 
of us had a medicine-chest or could supply the deficiency. 

My own traveling companions, the Cockle’s pills and some 
bottles of cholera medicine, did not seem to be applicable in 
the case mentioned, though, if the sick man had been an Arab, 
I should have administered the former freely, and probably 
with success, as faith is worth any amount of physic, and effects 
most marvelous cures. 


5 * 


100 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


Bleeding is still very much in vogue amidst tlie Russian 
practitioners, and one of the party suggested that a little blood¬ 
letting might be advisable, and lower the patient’s inflammation. 

The doctor shook his head, and immediately commenced a 
long professional dissertation, which he interlarded with various 
Latin words, in order to duly impress us with his classical ed¬ 
ucation, but he did not seem entirely to dislike the idea of the 
lancet, which I have but little doubt he eventually tried upon 
the unfortunate patient. 

There was not much reticence among the party, each travel¬ 
er being plied with different questions, and having to submit to 
a cross-examination as to who he was, from whence he came, 
where he was going to, and what was his business. In fact, 
the inquiries were of so exhaustive a character, the more partic¬ 
ularly those made by the surgeon, that I had serious thoughts 
of telling him my age, income, and what I had for dinner the 
previous evening, in the hope of fully satisfying his curiosity. 

The evening wore on, and one by one our party lay down 
to sleep, or to find what rest they could obtain, on the wooden 
planks of the floor, the lady being accommodated upon the 
sofa. In spite of the hardness of the boards, we were all speed¬ 
ily plunged in the arms of Morpheus, the cold winds and ex¬ 
posure during the previous night having taken more out of me 
than any other clime which I had hitherto experienced. 

The burning rays of a tropical sun on an African Sahara dry 
up the sap of the human frame, while a long camel journey fa¬ 
tigues the rider, but nothing like the pitiless cold and physical 
suffering which inevitably accompany a winter tour through 
Russia. 

At long intervals travelers arrived from Orenburg, and then 
the repose of our party would be broken for a moment by the 
new - comers, who strode in to take a share of the planks. 
There was no light in the room, and the fresh arrivals, in their 
endeavors to find a clear space on the floor, freely trod upon 
the body of the carrier. Some strong language issued from 
the lips of the man with the letter-bags, for which he was re¬ 
buked by the son of Esculapius, who, even at that hour of the 
night, could not refrain from inflicting upon us a Latin quotation. 


TEA-MONEY. 


107 


CHAPTER XIV. 

A Start with the Courier.—Tea-money.—A Breakdown.—The Book for 
Complaints.—Improvement in Scenery.—Trade in Shawls.—An Eastern 
Tale.—Podgornaya.—A Precipice.—Oura.—The Inn at Orsk.—A Ba¬ 
sin and a Table Napkin.—A Servant with a Joyful Countenance.—No 
Horses at the Stable.—A Man who has Horses for Hire.—You have a 
Grandmother.—A Blue-eyed Siren. 

I determined to take advantage of the presence of the man 
with the mails, and said that I would continue the journey 
with him, hoping by this means the quicker to reach my des¬ 
tination. The carrier had no objection, and, after a consid¬ 
erable delay in obtaining horses for our sleighs, we started. 
There was an advantage in accompanying him, for he was well 
provided with shovels and spades to dig out his vehicle in the 
event of the horses straying from the path and stumbling into 
a snow-drift. The main difficulty I should have would be to 
keep up with him, this being owing to the superiority of the 
teams which are supplied for the post. However, I hoped to 
do this by the means of tea-money, an open sesame to the af¬ 
fections of Russian sleigh - drivers, and which I had hitherto 
found their most vulnerable point. Let it be known that you 
tip handsomely, and your Jehu will drive you along regardless 
of his master’s interest, while the regulation ten versts an hour 
can often be converted into half as much again. 

Alas! all my calculations were upset; once more I was 
doomed to disappointment. I began to think that there was 
some influence behind the scenes, purposely doing its best to 
retard me on my journey. The tinkle of the bell on the car¬ 
rier’s sleigh resounded in n\y ears for the first half-hour or so, 
when I fell asleep. 

On awaking a few moments later, I found that the sounds 
were lost in the distance; my horses were traveling at a foot¬ 
pace, while the driver, who had descended from his seat, was 


108 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


flogging the poor beasts unmercifully, vainly endeavoring to 
get them into a trot. 

“ How far are we from the station behind us ?” I inquired. 

“ Five versts,” was the answer. 

I looked at my watch. We had been one hour and a half 
coming about three miles, and, in spite of the sleighman’s whip 
and imprecations, it seemed impossible that his weak team 
could drag us to the next stage. 

It was no use going on, so I desired him to return imme¬ 
diately, and, on arriving at the station, sent for the inspector, 
and also for the book in which travelers inscribe any complaint 
they may wish to make. 

I wrote in it that the carrier and myself had been detained 
forty-five minutes, counting from the time when our horses had 
been first ordered, and that finally the animals supplied me 
were so bad that they could not go out of a walk. I concluded 
my remarks by expressing a hope that the inspector would be 
punished for keeping such useless animals in his establishment. 

Having written down my grievance, I read it out to the in¬ 
terested party, to the great satisfaction of some other travelers 
who, like myself, had suffered from his carelessness. The man 
now became seriously alarmed, and said that he had never been 
complained of before; that he would be ruined; and that if I 
would only pardon him on this occasion, he would never err 
against another traveler. 

“ Please, little father, pardon,” he cried, “ and I will send 
you on with three beautiful horses, full of fire and bursting 
with corn.” 

“ Will you promise to make up for the lost time, and to 
catch the post at the next station ? If so, I will pardon vou; 
but if not, you shall suffer for your carelessness.” 

The man caught at the chance, and I wrote down at the bot¬ 
tom of the page that I would forgive him if he fulfilled these 
conditions, which, much to my surprise, he succeeded in doing. 

The country now improved very much in appearance. The 
low chain of mountains on my left was sometimes broken ab¬ 
ruptly for a mile or so, when a single giant would rear itself 
up into space before us as if by its altitude to block the inter- 


TRADE IN SHAWLS. 


109 


veiling gap. Various-colored grasses could be seen through 
the fleecy snow, golden-tinted and bright chestnut being the 
hues which predominated amidst the rising vegetation, while 
olive-colored brambles and thorns, sprinkled with sombre fir 
and pine forests, strongly contrasted with the pale carpet glis¬ 
tening beneath a midday sun. Stalactites in every form and 
shape hung pendent from the branches, the tenuous icicles re¬ 
flecting through their transparent surface all the prismatic col¬ 
ors of a rainbow. Here spider-like webs of icy film spanned 
the frequent bushes, or, broken by a pitiless beam from the orb 
overhead, hung in silky tresses, and floated in the rising breeze. 
There gnarled stumps and quaintly shaped blocks of timber, 
half-hid from the gaze by their wintry raiment, might have 
been antediluvian giants of a former world, suddenly awakened 
to existence, and shaking otf their snowy coverlet; while the 
bright and varied dresses of the peasantry afforded a pleasing 
change to the eye, after the similarity of color and costume I 
had remarked in European Russia. 

A considerable trade is carried on in the district between 
Orenburg and Orsk in shawls and neck-wrappers. These are 
made of gossamer-like webs of goats’-hair woven into the ar¬ 
ticles above mentioned. They are marvelously light, a very 
large shawl, which can be put into an ordinary sized official en¬ 
velope, not weighing more than a few ounces. What most 
surprises the traveler is the excessive warmness of these Orient¬ 
al wraps, as well as the softness of their texture, many of them 
being so delicately made that they can be passed through a 
finger-ring. Any one who has seen the extraordinary lightness 
and softness of this material can understand what the author 
of an Eastern tale had in his mind’s eye when he invented the 
story of the fairy tent which could shelter an army, and was 
yet so light as to be hardly perceptible to the touch. 

Among other kinds of shawls offered for sale at the various 
station-houses on the road, and where the good woman and her 
daughters entreat the traveler to purchase in so plausible and 
winning a manner that it is difficult to say nay, are wraps made 
of hares’-down. This is woven by the wives of the farmers 
and peasants in the neighborhood into very warm shawls, and 


110 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


which are softer, if possible, than those made of goats’ hair, al¬ 
though they are not nearly so light. 

The price of these articles of female attire is not by any 
means exorbitant. A good shawl can be obtained for from 
thirty to forty rubles; and I feel convined that if some of our 
London trades-people were to send their traveling-agents to 
those parts, a very profitable return would be made on the capi¬ 
tal invested; for the shawls in question would demand a ready 
sale in this country. 

Just before reaching Podgornaya, a halting-place on the 
highway, the road became very precipitous. It was a dark 
night, though fortunately unaccompanied by wind; but a thick 
mist—which had upraised itself from the mass of vegetation 
which abounded throughout the district — made it extremely 
difficult for our driver to see the path before him. The road 
was bad, and in some places dangerous — now descending a 
steep decline, then taking a sudden bend, when a hair-breadth 
to right or left would have caused a general smash. At last 
we came to a spot where the slope was fearfully abrupt. At 
its steepest part our road branched off at right angles from the 
line in which we had been previously driving, and which ter¬ 
minated in a precipice. It was not quite the sort of spot that 
any one would have cared to drive over on a dark night; and 
as for myself, I was unaware of the dangers of the route. 
They only became apparent when I was returning along the 
same track by daylight, and homeward-bound from Khiva. 

The two drivers had a long discussion before they would 
attempt the descent. When they at last commenced opera¬ 
tions, it was with the greatest care, and one sleigh at a time, 
the two drivers stepping slowly backward, and leading the 
sliding steeds of my vehicle, after which they returned for 
the sleigh with the post. A slip would have been fatal; 
but luckily the Fates were on our side, and let us pass in 
safety. 

The weather became much warmer on approaching Orsk, 
and I began to flatter myself that the real cold of the journey 
was over, little anticipating what was still in store. 

After crossing a few frozen streams, we entered the town, 


DRUNKENNESS IN RUSSIA. 


Ill 


my driver crying out “ Oura !”* at every moment to his horses, 
which, like himself, did not appear to be sorry that they had 
come to the end of the stage. The town is a clean-looking 
one, and the houses are well built, while an air of comfort 
reigned around delightful to behold, after the rough work we 
had been going through for the last few days. The driver 
pulled up at a little inn known by the name of the Tzarskoe 
Selo. It was filled with farmers and peasants, many of them 
much the worse for liquor; and at a bar just within the porti¬ 
co a man was engaged in pouring out vodki, which was eager¬ 
ly demanded by the customers. 

The amount of this spirit, which is quite as strong as whis¬ 
ky, that a Russian moujik can drink would be an interesting 
theme for Sir Wilfrid Lawson to dilate upon in one of his 
periodical dissertations on the advantages of temperance. If 
the teetotalers of England, like some of their missionary breth¬ 
ren, should ever think of making converts abroad, they would 
have a magnificent field for their labors in Russia. Often when 
driving through the streets I have been struck by the sight of 
some figure or other lying prostrate in the snow. “What is 
it ?” I would ask; “ is he dead ?” “ No ; only drunk,” would 

be the reply, followed by a laugh, as if it were a good joke to 
see a man who had made a beast of himself. It may be that 
in proportion to the population there are not more drunkards 
in the Tzar’s dominions than in England, or rather Scotland; 
but, at all events, to get drunk lowers a man in the opinion of 
the public in our country, whereas it is a feather in his cap in 
Russia. , 

Fortunately, there was a vacant room in the inn, and here I 
was at once supplied with the smallest of basins and a table 
napkin. In the mean time I dispatched Nazar to the post 
to desire the inspector to send me three horses immediately. 
There was no time to lose, and I wanted to hurry forward that 
afternoon. 

Presently my man returned with a joyous countenance, 


* A Tartar word, from which, perhaps, our word “ hurra ” comes. It 
signifies “ beat.” 




112 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


which betokened something disagreeable. In fact, in all coun¬ 
tries where I have hitherto traveled, human nature, as typi¬ 
fied in domestics, is much the same; they invariably look 
pleased when they have a piece of bad news to impart to their 
masters. 

“ What is it ?” I asked. “ Sleigh broken ?” 

“ No, sir. No horses to be had; that is all. General Kauff- 
mann went through early this morning and took them all. The 
inspector ‘says you must wait till to-morrow, and that then he 
will have a team ready for you. It is nice and warm,” contin¬ 
ued Nazar, looking at the stove. “ We will sleep here, little 
father; eat till we fill our clothes, and continue our journey to¬ 
morrow.” 

“ Nazar,” I replied, giving my countenance the sternest ex¬ 
pression it could assume, “ I command; you obey. We leave 
in an hour’s time. Go and hire some horses as far as the next 
stage. If you find it impossible to obtain any at the station, 
try and get some from a private dealer; but horses I must 
have.” 

In a few minutes my servant returned witli a still more joy¬ 
ful countenance than before. The inspector would not send 
any horses, and no one could be found in the town who was 
inclined to let out his animals on hire. 

There was nothing to be done but to search myself. Nazar 
had evidently made up his mind to sleep at Orsk. However, 
I had made up mine to continue the journey. 

Leaving the inn, I hailed a passing sleigh, the driver appear¬ 
ing to me to have a more intelligent expression than his fel¬ 
lows. Getting into the vehicle, I inquired if he knew of any 
one who had horses for hire. 

“Yes,” was the answer. One of his relatives had some; 
but the house to which I was driven was shut up, and no one 
was at home. I began to despair, and think that I should 
have as much difficulty in obtaining horses at Orsk as I had in 
procuring a servant at Orenburg. 

I now determined to try what gold, or rather silver, would 
do, and said to the driver, “ If you will take me to any one 
who has horses for hire, I will give you a ruble for yourself.” 


A MAN WHO HAS HORSES FOR HIRE. 


113 


“A whole ruble!” cried the man, with a broad grin of de¬ 
light ; and, jumping off his seat, he ran to a little knot of Tar¬ 
tars, one of whom was bargaining with the others for a basket 
of frozen fish, and began to ply them with questions. In a 
minute he returned. “Let us go,” he said; and with a “Burr” 
(the sound which is used by Russians to urge on their horses) 
and a loud crack with his lash, we drove rapidly in another di¬ 
rection. 

I had arrived at the outskirts of the town, and we stopped 
before a dirty-looking wooden cottage. 

A tall man dressed in a long coat reaching to his heels, 
bright yellow trousers, which were stuffed into a pair of red 
leather boots, while an enormous black sheep-skin cap covered 
his head, came out and asked my business. I said that I want¬ 
ed three horses to go to the next stage, and asked him what he 
would drive me there for, the regular postal tariff being about 
two rubles. 

“ One of noble birth,” replied the fellow, “ the roads are bad, 
but my horses will gallop the whole way. They are excellent 
horses; all the people in the town look at them, and envy me. 
They say how fat they are ! look, how round! The governor 
has not got any horses like mine in his stable. I spoil them; 
I cherish them ; and they gallop like the wind. The people 
look, wonder, and admire. Come and see the dear little ani¬ 
mals.” 

“ I have no doubt about it. They are excellent horses,” I re¬ 
plied ; “ but what will you take me for ?” 

“ Let us say four rubles, your excellency, and give me one 
on account. One little whole silver ruble; for the sake of 
God let me put it in my pocket, and we will bless you.” 

“All right,” was my answer. “ Send the horses to the Tzar- 
skoe Selo Inn immediately.” 

Presently the fellow rushed into my room, and, bowing to 
the ground, took off his cap with a grandiose air, then, drawing 
out the money I had given him from some hidden recess in the 
neighborhood of his skin, he thrust the ruble into my hand, 
and exclaimed, “ Little father, my uncle owns one of the horses; 
he is very angry. He says that he was not consulted in the 


114 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


matter, and that lie loves the animal like a brother. My uncle 
will not let liis horse leav r e the stable for less than five rubles. 
What is to be done? I told him that I had agreed to take 
you, and even showed him the money; but he is hard-hearted 
and stern.” 

“Very well,” I said; “bring round the horses.” 

In a few minutes the fellow returned, and exclaimed, “ One 
of noble birth, I am ashamed !” 

“ Quite right,” I said; “ you have every reason to be so. 
But go on; is your uncle’s horse dead ?” 

“ No, one of noble birth, not so bad as that; but my brother 
is vexed. He has a share in one of the animals; he will not let 
me drive him to the next station for less than six rubles,” and 
the man, putting on an expression in which cunning, avarice, 
and pretended sorrow were blended, rubbed his forehead, and 
added, “ What shall we do ?” 

I said, “ You have a grandmother?” 

“ Yes,” he replied, much surprised. “ How did you know 
that? I have; a very old grandmother.” 

“ Well,” I continued, “ go and tell her that,” fearing lest she 
should be annoyed if any accident were to happen during our 
journey; for you know misfortunes occur sometimes; God 
sends them,” I added, piously.—“ Yes, he does,” interrupted the 
man; “ we are simple people, your excellency.” — “ And, not 
wishing to hurt the old lady’s feelings, should the fore leg of 
your uncle’s horse or the hind leg of your brother’s suffer on 
the road, I have changed my mind, and shall not go with you 
to-day, but take post-horses to-morrow.” 

The man now became alarmed, thinking that he was about 
to lose his fare. He rubbed his forehead violently, and then 
exclaimed, “ I will take your excellency for five rubles.” 

“ But your brother ?” 

“ Never mind; he is an animal; let us go.” 

“No,” I answered. “I shall wait—the post-horses are 
beautiful horses. I am told that they gallop like the wind * 
all the people in the town look at them, and the inspector 
loves them.” 

“ Let us say four rubles, your excellency.” 


A BLUE-EYED SIREN. 


115 


“ But your uncle might heat you. I should not like you to 
be hurt.” 

“No,” was the answer, “we will go;” and the knotty point 
being thus settled, we drove off, much to the dissatisfaction of 
my little servant, Nazar; a blue-eyed siren in Orsk having, as 
the Orientals say, made roast meat of his heart, in spite of his 
being a married man. 


116 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


CHAPTER XV. 

Nomad Tribes.—A Picture of Desolation.—Nazar is worn out.—The In¬ 
spector.—Price of Land, Cattle, and Provisions.—The Cattle-pest.—Vac¬ 
cinating the Animals.—The Kirghiz do not believe in Doctors.—Small¬ 
pox.—Strict Orders to Prevent Englishmen traveling in Russian Asia.— 
The Cost of Post-horses.—Robbing Peter to pay Paul.—Postal Track let 
out to Contractors.—Fort Karabootaok.—Filthy Stations.—Horses want¬ 
ed.— Whipping the Order of the Day. — The Emperor Nicholas. — A 
Snow-storm.—Asleep in the Sleigh.—Frost-bites. — Physical Pain.— 
Mental Agony.—Cossack Soldiers.—Brothers in Misfortune. 

The aspect of the country now underwent an entire change. 
We had left all traces of civilization behind us, and were regu¬ 
larly upon the steppes. Not the steppes as they are described 
to us in the summer months, when hundreds of nomad tribes, 
like their forefathers of old, migrate from place to place, with 
their families, flocks, and herds, and relieve the dreary aspect of 
this vast flat expanse with their picturesque kibitkas, or tents, 
while hundreds of horses, grazing on the rich grass, are a source 
of considerable wealth to the Kirghiz proprietors. 

A large dining-table covered with naught but its white cloth 
is not a cheery sight. To describe the country for the next 
one hundred miles from Orsk, I need only extend the table-cov¬ 
er. For here, there, and everywhere was a dazzling, glaring 
sheet of white, as seen under the influence of a midday sun; 
then gradually softening down as the god of light sunk into the 
west, it faded into a vast, melancholy-looking, colorless ocean. 
This was shrouded in some places from the view by filmy clouds 
of mist and vapor, which rose in the evening air and shaded the 
wilderness around — a picture of desolation which wearied, by 
its utter loneliness, and at the same time appalled by its im¬ 
mensity ; a circle of which the centre was everywhere, and the 
circumference nowhere. Such were the steppes as I drove 
through them at night-fall or in the early morn; and where, 


A PICTURE OF DESOLATION. 


117 


fatigued by want of sleep, my eye searched eagerly, but in vain, ' 
for a station. 

On arriving at the halting-place, which was about twenty- 
seven versts from Orsk, Nazar came to me, and said, “ I am 
very sleepy; I have not slept for three nights, and shall fall 
off if we continue the journey.” 

When I began to think of it, the poor fellow had a good 

d^al of reason on his side. I could occasionally obtain a few 

moments’ broken slumber, which was out of the question for 

him. I felt rather ashamed that in mv selfishness I had over- 

«/ 

driven a willing horse, and the fellow had shown first-class 
pluck when we had to pass the night out on the roadside; so, 
saying that he ought to have told me before that he wanted 
rest, I sent him to lie down, when, stretching his limbs along¬ 
side the stove, in an instant he was fast asleep. 

The inspector was a good-tempered, fat old fellow, with red 
cheeks and an asthmatic cough. He had been a veterinary 
surgeon in a Cossack regiment, and consequently his services 
were much in request with the people at Orsk. He informed 
me that land could be bought on these flats for a ruble and' a 
half a desyatin (2.7 acres); that a cow cost £3 2s. Gd.; a fat 
sheep, two years old, 12s. Gd. ; and mutton or beef, a penny 
per pound. A capital horse could be purchased for three sov¬ 
ereigns, a camel for £7 10s., while flour cost Is. 4 d. the pood 
of 40 lbs. These were the prices at Orsk, but at times he said 
that provisions could be bought at a much lower rate, partic¬ 
ularly if purchased from the Tartars themselves. The latter 
had suffered a great deal of late years from the cattle-pest, and 
vaccinating the animals had been tried as an experiment, but, 
according to my informant, with but slight success. 

The Kirghiz themselves have but little faith in doctors or 
vets. It is with great difficulty that the nomads can be per¬ 
suaded to have their children vaccinated; the result is, that 
when small-pox breaks out among them it creates fearful havoc 
in the population. Putting this epidemic out of the question, 
the roving Tartars are a peculiarly healthy race. The absence 
of medical men does not seem to have affected their longevity, 
the disease they most suffer from being ophthalmia, which is 


118 


A RIDE TO KIIIVA. 


brought on by the glare of the snow in winter, and by the dust 
and heat in the summer months. 

After leaving Orsk, the podorojnaya, or passport, system came 
in force, and my pass and self underwent the most rigid scru¬ 
tiny ; the officials at the stations being very much alarmed lest 
any one should escape their vigilance, and drive by the stations 
without having his papers examined. 

I could not help asking the inspector, at a place where the 
examination was carried on in a very searching manner, if some 
horrible crime had not been committed in the neighborhood, 
as it appeared to me that he was on the lookout for a criminal. 

“ No,” said the man, “ that is not the reason; but we do not 
want any foreigners, particularly Englishmen, in these parts. 
Our orders in this respect are very strict.” 

The cost of traveling was now reduced from four copecks 
per horse to two and a half; however, we found that a travel¬ 
er did not gain much by this reduction, as the amount paid for 
the podorojnaya very nearly made up for the difference. I 
now learned that the postal track was let out to some con¬ 
tractors, who receive a subsidy for carrying the post, and at the 
same time have to keep a certain number of horses for the con¬ 
venience of passengers. The stations were filthily dirty, and 
the sofas in a disgusting state. Indeed, there were no arrange¬ 
ments made for washing, or for ablutions of any kind; and it 
seems that the Russians are of opinion that soap and water are 
not required when traveling, and that the less washing done on 
these occasions, the better. 

On arriving at Karabootaok, a small fort the Russians have 
built, 317 miles from Orsk, I found that the term fort was a 
misnomer. The place is not fortified in any sense so as to re¬ 
sist a disciplined force, although a few resolute men could 
doubtless hold it for a long time against any number of Kir¬ 
ghiz or Tartar horsemen. 

I was obliged to halt for a time at this station. There was 
a snow-storm going on, while the wind howled and whistled 
about the house, driving before it in its course such clouds of 
flaky particles that no horse could face its onslaught. Later 
on, and when the wind had a little abated, I asked the inspect- 


WHIPPING THE ORDER OF THE DAY. 


119 


or to give an order for three horses to be harnessed to my 
sleigh. But there were no animals in the stable, and we had 
to wait several hours before some could be procured. As a 
rule, however, there was but little delay, and the inspectors car¬ 
ried out their instructions to the letter. 

Formerly, and even in European Russia, passengers were 
sometimes detained for days waiting for horses at the stations, 
the inspectors not troubling their heads about any traveler, un¬ 
less he happened to be an officer. There is a story to the ef¬ 
fect that a Frenchman, who had been kept waiting a long time 
for post-horses, and who could not induce the inspector to give 
him any, was much astonished by the behavior of a Russian 
captain. The latter, on asking for a fresh team, was told that 
there were no animals in the stable. However, he at once pro¬ 
cured a whip and chastised the official, the result of the whip¬ 
ping being the instant discovery of some horses. The French¬ 
man seized the idea, and taking his cane followed the example 
set him, which he found a most marvelous specific in the course 
of his travels through Russia. 

Only a few years ago whipping was the order of the day; 
and, according to some accounts, the late Emperor Nicholas 
himself occasionally administered chastisement to his officers. 
But whipping in these days is out of the question, and so I 
had to remain kicking my heels about in the waiting-room, al¬ 
though in this instance I had a suspicion that the inspector had 
some horses in the stable. 

After waiting for several hours I was informed that some 
horses had been procured. The snow-storm had somewhat 
lulled, but the wind was almost as high as ever, and the cold 
more intense than any thing hitherto experienced. On leaving 
the station I had forgotten to put on my thick gloves, and took 
my seat in the sleigh, with each hand folded in the sleeve of its 
fellow, the fur pelisse in this way forming a sort of muff, and 
protecting my hands from the cold. The road was less jolty 
than usual, and the sleigh glided along, comparatively speak¬ 
ing, smoothly. The change of motion before long produced 
an effect; leaning back in the vehicle, I fell fast asleep. 

In the course of my slumber my hands slipped from the 


120 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


warm fur covering in wliicli they were inserted, resting them¬ 
selves on the side of the sleigh, unprotected bj .my thick 
gloves, and exposed to the full power of the biting east wind. 
This, if impossible to withstand when stationary or on foot, 
was now doubly dangerous, owing to the movement of the 
sleigh, which, going in an opposite direction, added consider¬ 
ably to the force with which the wind blew. 

In a few minutes I awoke; a feeling of intense pain had 
seized my extremities. It seemed as if they had been plunged 
into some corrosive acid which was gradually eating the flesh 
from the bones. 

I looked at my finger-nails; they were blue; the fingers and 
back part of my hands were of the same color, while my wrists 
and the lower part of the arm were of a waxen hue. There 
was no doubt about it, I was frost-bitten, and that in no slight 
degree ; so, calling to my servant, I made him rub the skin with 
some snow in hopes of restoring the vitality. This he did for 
several minutes, but all this time the same pain previously de¬ 
scribed was gradually ascending up my arms, while the lower 
portions of the limbs were lost to all sensation, dead to pain— 
dead to every sense of feeling—hanging quite listlessly by my 
side, Nazar in vain using all his energies so as to restore circu¬ 
lation. 

“It is no good,” he said, looking sorrowfully at me; “ we 
must get on as fast as possible to the station. “How far off 
is it ?” he inquired of the driver. “ Seven miles,” was the an¬ 
swer. 

“ Go as fast as you can!” I cried. 

The pain, which by that time had ascended to the glands 
under my arms, had become more acute than any thing I had 
hitherto experienced. Apparently, extreme cold acts in two 
ways on the nervous system: sometimes, and more mercifully, 
by bringing on a slumber from which the victim never awakes; 
and at others, by consuming him, as it were, over a slow fire, 
and limb by limb. All this time the perspiration was pouring 
down my forehead, my body itself being as if on fire, the pain 
gradually ascending the parts attacked. 

There are moments in a man’s life when death itself would 


KIND-HEARTED COSSACKS. 


121 


be a relief. It was about the day that an unfortunate criminal* 
would have to undergo the last dread sentence of the law ; and 
I remember distinctly the thought occurring to my mind, as to 
whether the physical pain I was then undergoing was less than 
the mental agony of the poor wretch on the drop. 

Would the distance that separated us from the station ever 
be traversed ? each mile seeming to me a league, and each 
league a day’s journey. At last we arrived. Hurrying to the 
waiting-room, I met three Cossacks, to whom I showed my 
hands. The soldiers led me into an outer room, and having 
taken off my coat and bared my arms, they plunged them up 
to the shoulder in a tub of ice and water. However, there was 
now no sensation whatever, and the limbs, which were of a 
blue color, floated painlessly in the water. 

The elder of the Cossacks shook his head and said, “ Broth¬ 
er, it is a bad job ; you will lose your hands.” 

“ They will drop off,” remarked another, “ if we can not get 
back the circulation.” 

“ Have you any spirit with you ?” added a third. 

Nazar, on hearing this, ran out and brought in a tin bottle 
containing naphtha for cooking purposes, upon which the Cos¬ 
sacks, taking my arms out of the icy water, proceeded to rub 
them with the strong spirit. 

Rub, rub, rub ; the skin peeled under their horny hands, and 
the spirit irritated the membrane below. At last a faint sensation 
like tickling pervaded the elbow-joints, and I slightly flinched. 

“ Does it hurt ?” asked the elder of the Cossacks. 

“A little.” 

“ Capital, brothers!” he continued; “ rub as hard as you can !” 
and after going on with the friction until the flesh was almost 
flayed, they suddenly plunged my arms again into the ice and 
water. I had not felt any thing before, but this time the pain 
was very acute. 

“ Good !” said the Cossacks. “ The more it hurts, the better 
chance you have of saving your hands.” And after a short 
time they let me take them out of the tub. 


* Wainwright. 
6 




122 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


“You are fortunate, little father,” said the elder of the Cos¬ 
sacks. “ If it had not been for the spirit, your hands would 
have dropped off, if you had not lost your arms as well.” 

Rough, kind-hearted fellows were these poor soldiers; and 
when I forced on the elder of them a present for himself and 
comrades, the old soldier simply added, “Are we not all broth¬ 
ers when in misfortune ? Would you not have helped me if I 
had been in a like predicament ?” 

I shook his hand heartily, and went to the w r aiting-room to 
rest on the sofa, as the physical shock just undergone had for 
the moment thoroughly prostrated me. My arms also were 
sore and inflamed, the spirit having in some places penetrated 
the raw flesh; and it was several weeks before I thoroughly 
recovered from the effects of my carelessness. 


A RUSSIAN OFFICER’S ESTIMATE OF TASHKENT. 123 


CHAPTER XYI. 

Kashgar.—English Officers drilling the Inhabitants.—Yakoob Bek’s En¬ 
voys.—Perfidious Albion.—Tashkent.—Commerce with Bokhara.—A 
Railway to Tashkent.—Irghiz.—A Wolf.—Terekli.—The Boundary-line. 
—How Far does Russia extend?—Uncivil Inspector.—Bottles broken 
by the Frost.—Passengers’ Necks.—Tartar Sleigh-drivers.—A Ruined 
Contractor.—A Team of Camels.—Head over Heels in the Snow.—The 
Kirghiz Horses. — A Hundred Miles’ Ride. — Two Hundred Miles in 
Twenty-four Hours (on two Horses).—Two Extraordinary Marches. 

A few stations farther on I met an officer, who asked very 
eagerly if I were going to Kashgar—he had found out, by in¬ 
quiry from the inspector, who I was—and he afterward assured 
me that there were thirty English officers in the above-men¬ 
tioned khanate engaged in drilling the inhabitants. He said 
that my compatriots had already organized a force of ten thou¬ 
sand men to resist the Russian advance, and declared that this 
information had come from Yakoob Bek’s envoys, who had 
been sent from Kashgar to Tashkent, and who had stated it to 
the Russians. 

I assured my informant that there was no truth whatever in 
the story, but with no effect; and he seemed thoroughly im¬ 
pressed with the idea that I was another agent of perfidious 
Albion, sent either to stir up the Kokandians or aid the Kash- 
garians against the designs of their Northern foe. I could not 
help remarking that if such were my designs it would have 
been far easier for me to have gone from India to Kashgar 
than to have come through Russia, and, as it were, through the 
heart of the enemy’s country; but even this argument had no 
effect. Tashkent, according to him, was a sort of Paradise ; the 
climate was excellent, and the inhabitants actually boasted a 
theatre. He said that the city contained five thousand Euro¬ 
peans and about seventy-five thousand natives, besides the gar¬ 
rison. The commerce with Bokhara was rapidly increasing, 


124 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


and Tashkent becoming a great emporium for all merchandise 
to and from Central Asia. 

According to my informant, the great desire of General 
Kauffmann, the Governor-general of the province of 1 urkistan, 
was to establish a railway from European Russia to Tashkent. 
The road from Orenburg via Orsk, Kasala, and the town of 
Turkistan had been surveyed, and was impracticable, owing to 
the nature of the soil. The line which would eventually unite 
the capital with the East would most likely pass through 
Western Siberia, and, according to all accounts, before very 
long some decisive steps would be taken with the object of 
carrying this idea into execution. 

As we were nearing Irgliiz, another fortress on the Oren- 
burg-Tashkent road, which is on a larger scale than the strong¬ 
hold at Karabootaok, although equally unserviceable, should it 
ever be attacked by a force belonging to a civilized power, 
Nazar suddenly exclaimed, “Wolf!” and, seizing my gun-case, 
commenced unstrapping it. But the animal showed no dis¬ 
position to allow me to come to close quarters, and he slunk 
away as soon as he saw us, at a good jog-trot, not giving a 
chance for a shot. 

After another long and uninteresting drive through the same- 
sort of desert, snow-covered country which I have previously 
attempted to describe, we came to Terekli, a station which di¬ 
vides the territory under General Kauffmann’s authority from 
the vast province which acknowledges the government of Kry- 
jinovsky, the Governor-general at Orenburg. I was now '761^ 
versts, or about 500 miles, from Orenburg, and about to enter 
the province of Turkistan, which extends from this point to a 
line not yet decided upon by the Russian geographers. 

A colonel was in the waiting-room, and he had desired the 
inspector not to allow any travelers to enter this apartment, for 
the official refused to allow me to go there, and took me into 
a little den inhabited by himself. 

Here the podorojnaya again underwent a most rigid exami¬ 
nation. The inspector was very uncivil, saying if I wanted to 
rest I might stop in his room, but by no means enter the one 
set aside for travelers; and he then remarked that it was a 


TARTAR SLEIGH-DRIVERS. 


125 


gross piece of presumption on my part to think of associating 
with so exalted an individual as a Russian colonel. 

The station-houses were much more comfortably arranged 
than those which I had seen in General Kryjinovsky’s district. 
They v r ere no longer constructed of wood—which, by-the-way, 
w r as so infested with insects as to be a perpetual source of 
torment to the traveler—but of cement. The stoves, too, were 
better arranged, and the waiting-rooms furnished with divans 
covered with Oriental rugs, where w r e could rest, spared from 
the war hitherto waged on us by the insect tribe. 

Nazar now came to me with a melancholy face. “The bot¬ 
tles are broken,” he said. On looking I found that the com 
tents of some bottles of strong pickles had become frozen into 
a solid mass of ice, and that in consequence the glass had been 
fractured. On a closer inspection, I found that the other bot¬ 
tles were in a similar state, and all of them had to be thrown 
away. The havoc made by the frost was the more remarkable 
as the articles in question had been carefully packed in cotton¬ 
wool and in wooden cases, which, in their turn, had been thickly 
covered with hay. 

The disregard shown for the passengers’ necks by the Tar¬ 
tar sleigh-drivers in General Kauffinann’s district was, if pos¬ 
sible, even greater than in Kryjinovsky’s province. Whenever 
the road allowed, the driver made his horses gallop the vdiole 
way, never once letting them trot. There w ? as a notice put up 
in the w r aiting-rooms at each station to the effect that if a 
traveler should urge his driver to go more than the regulation 
pace, ten versts an hour, and in consequence any damage occur 
to the horses, the traveler v 7 as to be fined forty rubles. I 
could not help thinking that in Russian Asia the authorities 
cared less for the travelers’ lives than for horses, there being no 
punishment whatever for the drivers should they upset Uieir 
fares; while, to put it more tersely, I could not harm a horse 
for less than forty rubles, while my driver might break my 
neck for nothing. 

At another station, Nazar, who had jumped off the sleigh to 
order a fresh team, ran back to inform me that there were no 
horses in the stables. It appeared, on inquiry, that the man 


12G 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


who had contracted to supply the track with horses had been 
ruined. The animals, which under the most favorable circum¬ 
stances never received much care during the winter, had been 
half starved, some had died, and others been seized by the 
creditors in liquidation of their accounts. The consequence 
was that instead of being supplied with three fresh horses, their 
place was taken by three gigantic camels. I should have 
thought that one of these enormous quadrupeds would have 
sufficed to draw my tiny vehicle; but, no! the order on the 
podorojnaya was to supply the bearer with three horses, and 
the number must be adhered to — such was the explanation 
given me by Nazar. 

It was a strange sight to see these gigantic beasts harnessed 
by some ropes to the little vehicle. I have tried many ways 
of locomotion in my life — from fire-balloons to bicycles, from 
canoes and bullocks to cows, camels, and donkeys; while in 
the East the time-honored sedan of our grandfathers has oc¬ 
casionally borne me and my fortunes—but never had I traveled 
in so comical a fashion. 

A Tartar rode the centre camel. His head-gear would have 
called attention, if nothing else had, for he wore a large black 
hat which reminded me of an inverted coal-scuttle, while a 
horn-like protuberance sticking out from its summit gave a 
diabolical appearance to his lobster-colored visage. The hat, 
which was made of sheep-skin, had the white wool inside, 
which formed a striking contrast to the flaming countenance 
of the excited Tartar. He had replaced the usual knout used 
for driving by a whip armed with a thin cord lash, and he 
urged on his ungainly team more by the shrill sounds of his 
voice than by any attempt at flagellation, the Tartar seldom 
being able to get more than four miles an hour from the lazy 
brutes. 

All of a sudden the camel in the centre quickly stopped, 
and its rider was precipitated head over heels on the snov\ 
Luckily, it was soft falling, there were no bones broken, and 
in a minute or so he v^as again in the saddle, having changed 
the system of harnessing, and placed one of the camels as 
leader, while the other two were driven as wheelers. We got 


KIRGHIZ HORSES. 


127 


on very fairly for a little while, when the foremost of our train, 
having received a rather sharper application of the lash than he 
deemed expedient, remonstrated with his rider by lying down. 
Coaxing and persuasion were now used; he was promised the 
warmest of stalls, the most delicious of water, if he would only 
get up. But this the beast absolutely declined to do, until the 
cold from the snow striking against his body induced him to 
rise from the ground. 

We now went even slower than before. Our driver was 
afraid to use his lash for fear of another ebullition of temper 
on the part of the delinquent, and confined himself to cracking 
his whip in the air. The sounds of this proceeding presently 
reaching the ears of the leader, perhaps made him think that 
his companions were undergoing chastisement. Anyhow, it 
appeared to afford him some satisfaction, for quickening his 
stride he compelled his brethren behind to accelerate their 
pace, and after a long, wearisome drive we eventually arrived 
at our destination. 

The country now began to change its snowy aspect, and 
party-colored grasses of various hues dotted the steppes around. 
The Kirghiz had taken advantage of the more benignant weath¬ 
er, and hundreds of horses were here and there to be seen pick¬ 
ing up what they could find. In fact, it is extraordinary how any 
of these animals manage to exist through the winter months, 
as the nomads hardly ever feed them with corn, trusting to the 
slight vegetation which exists beneath the snow. Occasional- 
ly the poor beasts perish by thousands, and a Tartar who is a 
rich man one week may find himself a beggar the next. This 
comes from the frequent snow-storms, when the thermometer 
sometimes descends to from forty to fifty degrees below zero, 
Fahrenheit; but more often from some slight thaw taking place 
for perhaps a few hours. This is sufficient to ruin whole dis¬ 
tricts, for the ground becomes covered with an impenetrable 
coating of ice, and the horses simply die of starvation, not be¬ 
ing able to kick aw T ay the frozen substance as they do the 
snow from the grass beneath their hoofs. No horses which I 
have ever seen are so hardy as these little animals, which are 
indigenous to the Kirghiz steppes; perhaps for the same rea- 


128 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


son that the Spartans of old excelled all other nations in phys¬ 
ical strength, but with this difference, that nature doles out to 
the weakly colts the same fate which the Spartan parents ap¬ 
portioned to their sickly offspring. 

The Kirghiz never clothe their horses, even in the coldest 
winter. They do not even take the trouble to water them, 
the snow eaten by the animals supplying this want. Toward 
the end of the winter months the ribs of the poor beasts al¬ 
most come through their sides; but once the snow disappears, 
and the rich vegetation which replaces it in the early spring 
comes up, the animals gain flesh and strength, and are capable 
of performing marches which many people in this country 
would deem impossible, a hundred-mile ride not being at all 
an uncommon occurrence in Tartary. Kirghiz horses are not 
generally well shaped, and can not gallop very fast, but they 
can traverse enormous distances without water, forage, or halt¬ 
ing. When the natives wish to perform any very long journey 
they generally employ two horses: on one they carry a lit¬ 
tle water in a skin, and some corn, while they ride the other, 
changing from time to time, to ease the animals. 

It is said that a Kirghiz chief once galloped with a Cossack 
escort (on two horses) 200 miles in twenty-four hours, the path 
extending for a considerable distance over a mountainous and 
rocky district. The animals, however, soon recovered from the 
effects of the journey, although they were a little lame for the 
first few days. 

An extraordinary march was made by Count Borkli to the 
Sam, in May, 1870. The object of his expedition was to ex¬ 
plore the routes across the Ust TJrt, and if possible to capture 
some Kirghiz auls (villages), which were the head-quarters of 
some marauding bands from the town of Kungrad. The Rus¬ 
sian officer determined to cross the northern Tcliink, and by 
a forced march to surprise the tribes which nomadized on the 
Sam. Up to that time only small Cossack detachments had 
ever succeeded in penetrating to this locality. To explain the 
difficulties to be overcome, it must be observed that the Ust 
Urt plateau is bounded on all sides by a scarped cliff, known 
by the name of the Tchink. It is very steep, attaining in some 


AN EXTRAOKDIN 411Y MARCH. 


129 


places an elevation of from 400 to 600 feet, and the tracks 
down its ragged sides are blocked up by enormous rocks and 
loose stones. Count Borkli resolved to march as lightly 
equipped as possible, and without baggage, as he wished to 
avoid meeting any parties of the nomad tribes on his road. 
His men carried three davs’ rations on their saddles, while the 
artillery took only as many rounds as the limber-box would 
contain. The expedition was made up of 150 Orenburg Cos¬ 
sacks, 60 mounted riflemen, and a gun, which was taken more 
by way of experiment than for any other reason, the authori¬ 
ties being anxious to know if artillery could be transported in 
that direction. 

The troops at the outset met with serious obstacles in the 
passes over the northern Tchink, horses and men coming down 
every minute. The gun had to be dragged up the first pass by 
fifty dismounted Cossacks supplied with ropes. But, notwith¬ 
standing the difficulties experienced, the troops marched sixty 
miles, and did not halt till they had descended the following 
day to Kurgan Tchagai. Now commenced a long, sterile, sandy 
steppe. There was no forage under-foot, and no water save at 
considerable intervals, the wells being 180 feet deep. How¬ 
ever, the little force again marched for sixty miles without a 
halt, when its leader was obliged to abandon the enterprise and 
retrace his steps, owing to the absolute dearth of provisions, 
the Kirghiz having received timely warning of his approach, 
and made off a few hours before the arrival of the party. The 
troops reached their quarters (Jebyske) on the sixth day, after 
a march of 266 miles over a desolate and arid country. The 
heat had been excessive, the thermometer sometimes reaching 
117 degrees Fahrenheit during the day, while the nights were 
cold and frosty. The insufficiency of supplies had been so felt 
that the men, on the fourth day of the expedition, were obliged 
to kill and eat a Cossack horse. There were no sick in the par¬ 
ty, and only twelve horses, which had been ridden by the rifle¬ 
men, were found to have suffered from sore backs; this be¬ 
ing occasioned by the men not having properly adjusted their 
saddles before mounting. Similar rapidity characterized a raid 
made by Count Borkh in the summer of 1869 upon the aul of 

6 * 


130 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


tlie Kirghiz Amantai, a chief who nomadized at that time on 
the Teress-Ahhana, a tributary of the Khobda. 

Count Borkh, who was then constructing the Ak-Tiube Fort, 
formed a flying column of seventy Orenburg Cossacks, and, ac¬ 
complishing nearly 133 miles in two days, by secluded paths and 
valleys reached Murtuk. Intelligence was here received that 
Amantai was nomadizing with his kinsmen, the Chiklins; and 
as the ties of clanship are held in great esteem among the Kir¬ 
ghiz, the whole success of the detachment depended upon its 
falling upon the Chiklins unawares. 

The object of the detachment was favored by the inclemency 
of the night, which was such as is seldom experienced in the 
steppes. Taking advantage of the darkness, Count Borkh or¬ 
dered the Cossacks to tie up their sabres, cover their stirrup- 
irons, and put nose-bags over their horses’ mouths, to prevent 
them from neighing. 

In utter darkness, and amidst the howling of the storm, the 
Cossacks passed among the sleeping auls, with the assistance of 
a trusty guide, and the constant flashes of the lightning. 

At day-break the detachment was far on its road, and per¬ 
ceiving on the banks of a rivulet the traces of some Kirghiz, 
who had just quitted the spot, it trotted forward, and soon de¬ 
scribed in a large ravine some auls, among which was that of 
Amantai. 

It was necessary to gallop the distance to the auls as quickly 
as possible, so as not to give the Kirghiz time to recover. For¬ 
bidding the Cossacks to fire, Count Borkh dashed at the auls, 
and demanded from the astonished Kirghiz the surrender of 
Amantai, who was at once given up. 

Apprehending an attack on their return journey, the Cos¬ 
sacks formed a sort of movable square, and throwing out a 
chain of skirmishers around the herd which they had captured 
(about 900 head), prepared, in the event of attack, to dismount 
and fire over the saddle. The Kirghiz followed at a respectful 
distance, but, observing the precautions which had been taken, 
commenced gradually to drop off. The detachment reached 
Ak-Tiube in six days without contretemps , after a march of 333 
miles, and with the loss of only two lame horses. 


STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE OF HORSES. 


131 


From the incidents which I have cited, it will be at once seen 
that the Kirghiz horses yield to none in strength and endur¬ 
ance, and that a nation which is able to dispose of from 300,000 
to 400,000 Cossacks, mounted upon steeds such as I have de¬ 
scribed, is a very formidable embodiment of military power. 


132 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


CHAPTER XVII. 

Breakdown of the Sleigh.—Fresh Vehicles.— The “Scavenger’s Daugh¬ 
ter.”—The Sea of Aral.—A Salt Breeze.—Less Snow.—Christmas-day 
in Russia.—Amorous Females in Search of a Husband.—Supper for 
Two.—Kasala, or Fort Number One.—The Garrison.—The Aral Fleet.— 
The Inn of Morozoff.—Comparisons in Dirt.—In Search of a Lodging. 
—Go with God, Brother.—The Jews’ Quarter.—A Commandant. 

The jolting imparted by the motion of the camels to the 
sleigh had been too much for the wooden frame-work, and an 
inspector who gave me this information declared that it would 
be impossible for us to continue the journey save in another 
carriage. 

Nazar, however, was of opinion that this statement on the 
part of the official was an interested one, and only made to in¬ 
duce me to hire one of his own vehicles. But as the chances 
appeared tolerably evenly balanced in favor of my sleigh reach¬ 
ing Kasala, or of my being left on the road—not a pleasant 
thing to look forward to, in the month of January, in the 
steppes—I determined to be on the safe side and leave it be¬ 
hind, though with feelings of regret, as if I were parting with 
an old friend; for it had carried myself and fortunes for more 
than a thousand miles. 

The sleigh in which we now found ourselves was still more 
like a coffin than the one I had abandoned. In addition to be¬ 
ing narrow, it was short; and after once wedging myself in, 
there was no possibility of stretching my legs till I arrived at 
the next station. 

There is in the Tower a singular instrument of torture, in¬ 
vented by some diabolical genius of the Middle Ages, and called 
the “ Scavenger’s Daughter.” The victim who was wedded, 
as it was termed, to this fiendish contrivance could not make 
the slightest movement, his limbs and body being compressed 
into the smallest space. Of such a nature was the sleigh in 

. 


CHRISTM AS-D AY IN RUSSIA. 


133 


which I was now traveling; and if Dante had ever been placed 
in a similar predicament, he would undoubtedly have added yet 
another way of punishing the ungodly to the long list of tor¬ 
ments in his “ Inferno.” 

Our driver pulled up at a station called Soppak. We were 
rapidly nearing Kasala. When we continued our journey, we 
passed by small salt-lakes, which were covered with thick ice ; 
while far awa} 7 in the distance, and about forty versts from us, 
lay the Sea of Aral, which, according to the inspector, was also 
frozen for several versts from its shores, thus rendering naviga¬ 
tion impossible. A salt breeze was blowing straight in our 
faces. It parched and dried up the skin, and, in spite of the 
cold weather, produced a state of feverishness; while the tea 
which we drank was not at all calculated to quench our thirst, 
as the only water which could be procured had a brackish 
taste and strong saline flavor. In fact, the whole country in 
this district is impregnated with salt for miles around, and un¬ 
doubtedly at some not very remote date has been covered by 
the sea. 

The snow became less and less, till at last the horses could 
scarcely drag the vehicle over the thinly covered ground; and 
when we stopped at a halting-place about five stations from 
Kasala, it was necessary to abandon the sleigh and hire a car¬ 
riage. Slowly we rolled along the road, a rough and fatiguing 
one for the half-starved horses, which were so weak from want 
of food that they could hardly put one leg before another; 
when another heavy snow-storm warned us that winter was still 
raging on in front. 

The evening was well advanced. The last station but one 
had been reached; so I resolved to sleep there, and enter the 
town the following morning, not knowing where I should be 
able to find accommodation should we arrive at Kasala in the 
still hours of the night. There was no inspector in the station, 
for it was Christmas-day—not according to our English reck¬ 
oning, for that had been passed at Orenburg, but the Russian 
anniversary of the same event, which is celebrated according to 
the Old Style, and takes place twelve days after our own. The 
official, finding it dull all alone, had given himself a holiday, 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


134 

and o-one off to Fort Number One, there to eat, drink, and be 
merry. 

I must say I was sorry not to have been able to arrive in 
time for the anniversary of this time-honored festival, which is 
kept by the Russians with not one whit less pomp or feasting 
than in our own country. With them, as with us, it is custom¬ 
ary for all the members of a family to assemble beneath one 
roof. Rich and poor relations unite together, the festive board 
is spread, and unusual hospitality prevails ; while, later on, a 
Christmas-tree, laden with fruit and presents, rejoices the souls 
of the more juvenile population. Pleasure, however, has its 
dark side, and vodki, like punch, can not be drunk with impu¬ 
nity ; while the appearance of the Russians the morning after 
the feast plainly tells its tale. 

Russian girls frequently amuse themselves at this time of 
year by attempting to discover what sort of a husband will 
eventually lead them to the altar. A favorite manner of doing 
this is by so-called divination. The amorous female who is 
tired of a celibate life sits, in the mystic hours of the night, be¬ 
tween two large mirrors. On each side she places a candle, 
and then eagerly watches until she can see twelve reflected 
lights, when, if the Fates are propitious, she ought also to dis¬ 
cern the husband she desires portrayed in the glass before her. 
Another method of divination is to have supper laid for two, 
when, if the young lady is in luck, the apparition of the future 
husband will come and sit down beside her; but, in order to 
secure success, the girl must not divulge to any one her inten¬ 
tion of thus attempting to dive into futurity. 

There is a story told in Russia to the effect that the daugh¬ 
ter of a rich farmer was in love with a young lieutenant, and 
he, suspecting that she would probably have supper laid for 
two, climbed the wall of the garden, and, sitting down by her 
side, partook of the prepared banquet; the girl being under 
the impression that it was his apparition, and not the real Si¬ 
mon Pure. On leaving the room, the officer forgot his sword, 
which he had unbuckled before he sat down to supper; and 
the girl, finding the weapon after his departure, hid it in the 
cupboard as a memento of the visit. Later on she married an- 


THE MARCH TO KHIVA. 


135 


other suitor, and he, fancying that there was some rival who 
supplanted him in his wife’s affection, and one day discovering 
the sword, was confirmed in his suspicions, and killed her in a 
fit of passion. 

Sometimes the inquisitive husband-seeker will take a candle, 
and, melting the wax, pour it on the snow, after which she 
strives to discern in the hardened substance the likeness of him 
she seeks; while a very favorite amusement at this season of 
the year, and when several girls are congregated under the same 
roof, is to divine by the aid of a cock. Each girl, taking some 
corn, makes a small heap on the floor, and there conceals a 
ring. The chanticleer is then introduced, and is let loose be¬ 
side the corn. Presently he begins to peck at the heaps of 
grain. At last one of the rings is exposed to view, when its 
owner, according to the popular belief, will outstrip her com¬ 
panions in the race for matrimony. 

We left our quarters at day-break. I had been informed 
that there was an inn at the fort, and determined to drive there 
at once, and not to go to the regular postal station at Kasala, 
so as to avoid losing any time. As we neared our destination, 
the country on both sides of the road was covered with sheets 
of ice. The frozen water w r as an overflow from the Syr Darya, 
or Jaxartes, which in the autumn had risen far above its banks 
and inundated the country in the neighborhood. The air was 
bright and pure, and my spirits rose with the idea that proba¬ 
bly my sleigh-traveling was over, and that now I was about to 
commence another phase in my journey—the march to Khiva. 
From the information which I had been able to gather on the 
road, it appeared that there was snow on the ground all the 
way from Kasala to the newly annexed khanate. If so, it was 
all the better for my journey, as we should have no difficulty 
about water. 

We now drove into the little town of Kasala, otherwise 
known as Kasalinsk, or Fort Number One. The inhabitants 
are composed of nomad Kirghiz, who pitch their kibitkas, or 
tents, in the outskirts of the town, and there pass the winter, 
migrating once more in the early spring; of Russian and Tar¬ 
tar merchants, who live in onO - storied brick or cement-built 


130 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


houses; while Jews, Greets, Khivans, Tashkentians, Bokharans, 
and representatives of almost every country in Asia, are to be 
met with in the streets. Kasala is a place possessing consider¬ 
able commercial importance in Central Asia, owing to its geo¬ 
graphical position, all goods coming to Russia from Bokhara, 
Khiva, Tashkent, and Kokan having to pass it on the way. 
The entire popidation is about 5000; while at the time of my 
visit it was garrisoned by a local infantry force of 350 men, 
under a commandant, and a cavalry regiment of about 400 
strong. In addition to this force, there were the sailors of the 
Aral fleet (four small steamers, drawing but little water, and 
able to ascend the Amu Darya to within a few miles of Petro- 
Alexandrovsk, a Russian fort, built in Khivan territory, which 
has been recently annexed to the Russian Empire, in spite of 
Count Schouvaloff’s assurance* to her Majesty’s late Govern¬ 
ment). The crews of these vessels augmented the garrison by 
about 750 men. There were a few nine and four pounders, 
and a small detachment of artillery permanently stationed with¬ 
in the walls, while there were also fourteen small guns, capa¬ 
ble, however, of throwing a ten-pound shell. These had been 
taken out of the steamers, and were available should they be 
required. 

The fort itself is in the shape of a half star. It is an earth¬ 
work, defended on the south by a bastioned front which ex¬ 
tends to the banks of the Syr Darya, here about half a verst 
wide. The fort is surrounded by a dry ditch and a parapet 
about eight feet high and twelve thick, the ditch being about 
thirty feet broad and twelve deep. Within the structure there 
are barracks sufficiently large to contain 2000 troops, and also 
warehouses filled with stores. These buildings are constructed 
of bricks and dried clay. The plan of the fortification is bad¬ 
ly designed, and the place might be very easily taken ; how- 
ever, it answers the purpose for which it was intended—name¬ 
ly, to check the Kirghiz, and hurl them back again into the 
wilderness in the event of their attempting to resist a Russian 
advance. 


* See Appendix B. 




137 


“ GO WITH GOD, BROTHER.” 

The hostelry to which we were bound was called the Inn 
of Morozoff, Morozoff being a speculative Russian who had 
built a small one-storied house and roughly finished it, trusting 
to make his profits out of the officers of the garrison and the 
Russian merchants who were continually passing through Ka- 
sala. 

On inquiring if I could have a room, the waiter, a man of 
Jewish type, informed me that the town was full, and that 
there would be no room vacant for several days. However, he 
gave us the name of an individual who kept a sort of lodging- 
house. 

“ It is very dirty,” observed the waiter, “ but I dare say you 
don’t mind that,” and he looked contemptuously at my sheep¬ 
skin attire. 

The man who addressed us was himself begrimed with dirt, 
and MorozofTs inn, in point of cleanliness, would have been 
surpassed by even a pig-sty in many of our Leicestershire farms. 
However, there are comparisons in dirt, and the proprietor of 
the lodging-house where I now betook myself was even more 
unwashed than the waiter above mentioned. 

“Rooms?” said he; “no: we are here five and six in a 
room, and our passages are full too.” 

“ Do you know of any other lodging-house ?” I inquired. 

“Lodging-house? no. Go with God, brother;” and with 
these words he slammed the door in my face, leaving Nazar 
and myself looking pensively at each other outside. 

“He is the son of an animal!” exclaimed my faithful fol¬ 
lower; “but it is cold here. One of noble birth, what shall 
we do ?” 

An idea struck me. “Drive to the Jews’ quarters,” I said 
to the sleighman, thinking that perhaps among the tribes of 
Israel I might find quarters for the night. 

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were now visited, but in vain, and 
the Mohammedan inhabitants were equally impervious to an 
offer. The fact was, that a feast peculiar to the followers of 
the Prophet happened to fall on the same date as the Russian 
Christmas. People had come from every part of Asia to meet 
their friends and relatives. Unusual rejoicing was going on; 


138 


A HIDE TO KHIVA. 


the Russian making his heart gay with vodki, while the follow¬ 
er of Islam, after stuffing himself with pilloffs of rice and mut¬ 
ton, was seeking in the fumes of opium relief from the cares 
of this world, and a foretaste of the one to come, a Moham¬ 
medan’s Paradise consisting of an unlimited seraglio which 
costs nothing to keep, and where the female inhabitants require 
no guardians, do not quarrel or pull his beard, and are always 
voung. 

As it was impossible to find any lodgings in Kasala, I re¬ 
solved to drive to the fort and see if the commandant could do 
any thing for us. This officer received me very courteously, 
and at once sent his servant to search everywhere in the town 
for rooms. In the mean time he offered me an apartment in 
his own house. A large brass basin was brought in, and I now 
enjoyed the luxury of soap and water, which w r as well appre¬ 
ciated after a continuous journey for twelve days. 

Foreigners can not understand an Englishman’s love of w T a- 
ter, and look upon us as dirty for requiring so much washing. 
Russians consider a vapor-bath once a week an embarras de 
richesse in so far as cleanliness is concerned, while the mere 
idea of any one having a cold bath every morning is beyond 
their comprehension, and another proof of the eccentricity ap¬ 
pertaining to an insular character. 

The room in which I found myself was furnished in the 
simplest manner, a bedstead and a few wooden chairs being all 
the furniture ; however, it was clean, and free from insect life. 
Presently the servant sent out by the commandant in search 
of lodgings returned. He had been everywhere in Kasala, and 
there was not a room, or even the share of a room, to be had. 
I now learned that privacy is not considered at all essential in 
, the steppes, where three or four officers will often share the 
same apartment. 


HOSPITALITY OF A COMMANDANT. 


139 


CHAPTER XVIII. 

Hospitality.—An English Engineer Officer at Kasala.—A Russian Scien¬ 
tific Expedition.—Surveying the Oxus.—The Rapidity of the Stream.— 
A Future Fleet.—Transport and Fishing Barges.—Lady Smokers.—Dis¬ 
turbances in Kokan. — The Invalide Newspaper.—Abuse of Yakoob 
Bek.—Dinner.—Any Thing you ask for.—Cabbage-soup and Cold Mut¬ 
ton.—Colonel Goloff.—His Residence.—An Assembly.—The Beauty and 
Fashion of Kasala.—Steamers.—Wood instead of Coal.—Great Expense 
to Government.—When we Fight you Fellows in India.—Zakuski.— 
Russian Linguists.—System of Teaching Languages.—Public Schools in 
England.—Latin and Greek, or French and German.—A Foundation, 
or a Two-storied House. 

The commandant pressed me to remain beneath his roof, at 
least until such time as I could find sleeping-quarters. Shortly 
afterward he introduced me to his wife and family. I must 
say 1 was much struck by the kindness and hospitality of this 
gentleman. He had never seen me before, had no security be¬ 
yond my word as to who I was, and yet he instantly placed his 
house at my disposal. The courteousness and hospitality of 
this kind old commandant will always remain in my memory 
as one of the pleasantest episodes in my journey to Khiva. 
His wife now informed me that an English engineer officer had 
resided beneath their roof the previous summer, and had sub¬ 
sequently accompanied a Russian scientific expedition as far as 
Petro-Alexandrovsk, the object of his journey being to survey 
the Oxus. The members of the expedition had, at the time 
my compatriot v 7 as with it, navigated the stream to the fort, 
but since his departure some Russian officers had ascended the 
river seventy versts beyond that part; indeed, the commandant 
informed me that when a steamer then being built was finished, 
which would draw but little water and steam twenty versts per 
hour, it would be able to ascend the stream for a much greater 
distance, and perhaps to the source of the river. The chief ob' 


140 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


stacle hitherto experienced had been the rapidity of the cur¬ 
rent, and as the engines on the vessels in commission were of 
little horse-power, it had been difficult to make headway against 
the stream. 

Permission had been given to a merchant to build a fleet of 
fishing vessels for the Sea of Aral, which is said to abound 
with the finny tribe. This would doubtless be a great conven¬ 
ience, as in case of necessity these barges could be used to 
transport troops up the Oxus. 

The distance from the Sea of Aral to European Russia is 
considerable. The supply of fish supplied by the Black and 
Caspian seas is very plentiful. It is to be feared that the en¬ 
terprising individual who is about to construct this fleet of 
fishing barges will find his speculation any thing but a lucra¬ 
tive one, although from a military point of view it will be ex¬ 
tremely useful. 

My hostess poured out some tea, and, handing me a cigar¬ 
ette, lighted one for herself. This is not at all an exceptional 
proceeding in Russia, where the women smoke as much as the 
men. In the best society at St. Petersburg, it is not at all 
an uncommon spectacle to see the married women and aged 
chaperons indulging in cigarettes. Fortunately, the girls have 
not as yet taken to the habit. 

The disturbances in Kokan, by all accounts, had been much 
exaggerated, and the Russian troops had not at any time been 
in danger. An officer who had passed through Kasala, on his 
road from Tashkent to St. Petersburg, had said that his com¬ 
rades and self were very surprised to find that they were such 
great heroes. This was all owing to the Invalide newspaper, 
for the Russian military journal had bespattered the officers 
under Kauffmann with adulation; but that it was w T ell this 
organ had done so, as there 'would now be plenty of medals 
and decorations. If the paper would only continue its abuse 
of Yakoob Bek, it w T ould very likely bring about a campaign 
in the summer against Kashgar, and that this was the wish of 
General Kauffmann, the Governor-general of Turkistan. 

I now proceeded to Morozoff’s hostelry to see what could be 
obtained for dinner, as I felt excessively hungry, the keen air of 


COLONEL GOLOFF. 


141 


the steppes having produced a most healthy appetite. On ask¬ 
ing the same domestic who had greeted me in the morning 
what there was to eat, 

“Any thing you ask for,” was the immediate reply. 

This, when submitted to investigation, proved to be slightly 
incorrect, for some cabbage-soup and cold mutton were the sole 
contents of the larder. 

“ We have magnificent wine,” observed the servant, pro¬ 
ducing a bottle of port as black as ink, and which appeared to 
be a concoction of Russian spirits, thickened with soot. “De¬ 
licious ! taste it; our wine is famous all over the country.” 

The room in which I found myself was of an oblong shape, 
and without any furniture save a table and bench. A few 
sheep-skins in a corner showed that the apartment was already 
taken; and in reply to my inquiry I was informed that three 
merchants had slept there, but that, they not being at home, 
the waiter had taken possession of their room. 

According to him, it was a delightful Christmas. More 
vodki had been drunk the previous evening than had ever been 
known in the annals of Fort Number One. Universal drunk¬ 
enness still prevailed, and the inhabitants in consequence were 
thoroughly enjoying themselves. 

I ordered a sleigh, but had some difficulty in obtaining one, 
as there were only five of these vehicles in Kasala. I then 
drove to the house of Colonel Goloff, the district governor. 
He was not at home, but engaged in paying visits to the fam¬ 
ilies of the principal officials in the garrison, as it is the custom 
in Russia to call on your friends during the Christmas week 
and offer them the congratulations of the season. His servant, 
however, told me that the governor would soon return, so I re¬ 
solved to await his arrival. 

The house was a substantial and well-built edifice, but only 
one story high, like almost every other building in Kasala. 
The two sentinels outside the building, and whom I could dis¬ 
tinguish through the thick double-glass windows, every now 
and then took a short run backward and forwurd in front of 
their sentry-boxes, so as to keep up the circulation in their 
feet, the cold being very great. 


142 


A HIDE TO KHIVA. 


A small entrance-hall afforded every convenience to the vis¬ 
itor for hanging up his fur pelisse and depositing his galoches, 
while four large and lofty rooms opening one into the other 
formed the dwelling apartments of the family. There were 
fine parquet floors in each of the rooms alluded to, while some 
full-length mirrors, with a few chairs and tables, constituted 
the entire furniture. Large stoves set in the walls were ar¬ 
ranged so as to impart a genial warmth throughout the build- 
in g- • while three or four back rooms, used as offices and kitch- 
en, looked out upon a small garden and stable, which were be¬ 
hind the colonel’s residence. 

Presently the rattle of a sleigh which stopped before the 
portico announced to me that the governor had returned, and 
a minute later he entered the room. 

He was a tall hut somewhat corpulent man, evidently on the 
wrong side of fifty, and clad in a dark-blue uniform. I in¬ 
troduced myself to him, and apologized for the liberty I had 
taken in calling. 

He said that he had heard from the authorities at St. Peters¬ 
burg that I was on my way, at the same time observing that 
he could not allow me to remain under the commandant’s roof. 
“ His house is small,” remarked the governor; “ besides that, 
he has a wife and children ; here I am all alone, my family has 
gone to Russia. You must come and stay with me.” 

“ Nay, you must,” he added, somewhat sharply, as I hesitated 
to intrude myself on his hospitality ; so, thanking him for the 
invitation, I drove back to the commandant’s quarters. It was 
with difficulty that I could persuade him to let me depart, and 
then it was only by saying that the governor had expressed his 
wish, or rather orders, on this subject in such a peremptory 
manner that it was impossible for me to refuse. 

Of all the hospitable people whose acquaintance it has been 
my good fortune to make during my many travels, there is no 
one who can compare to this kind-hearted commandant. To 
have his house invaded by an Englishman, and instantly to of¬ 
fer him a lodging, although he had no idea who the stranger 
might be, except that he was very dirty and clad in sheep¬ 
skins, would have been a high trial to the most philanthropic 


THE BEAUTY AND FASHION OF KASALA. 143 

of individuals; but it was done by tliis good-natured officer. 
There are two ways of showing a kindness, and this act of hos¬ 
pitality had been performed with great tact, the commandant 
striving to persuade me that a favor would have been conferred 
on him by my remaining beneath his roof. 

On returning to the governor’s, I found the- reception-room 
filled with officers who had come to offer him the usual Christ¬ 
mas congratulations. He then told me that there would be an 
assembly- at his house later on in the evening, when I should 
have the opportunity of seeing all the beauty and fashion of 
Kasala. 

The apartments were thrown open and fairly lighted. Short¬ 
ly afterward the ladies began to arrive, all of them being in 
high dress, and little coteries were speedily formed. Some set¬ 
tled down to play whist, regardless of the buzz of conversation 
around them ; others promenaded about the rooms with the 
lady of their choice — men and women all with cigarettes in 
their mouths, and filling the apartments with clouds of smoke. 
There was no stiffness anywhere, and every thing was done to 
make a stranger feel thoroughly at home. General Kauffmann 
had passed through Kasala a few days previous, and had left a 
very pleasant impression upon the fairer part of the communi¬ 
ty, with whom the aged general was decidedly a favorite, and 
many remarks were made as to why he had gone to St. Pe¬ 
tersburg. 

One of the officers spoke Portuguese, having been some time 
at Madeira, and he was delighted to have an opportunity of air¬ 
ing his knowledge of that language. He had been attached to 
a Russian squadron which had sailed to America a few years 
ago, and he was now doing duty on board a vessel belonging 
to the Aral fleet. He informed me that his ship drew but lit¬ 
tle water, not more than from three to four feet, and that she 
could steam from Petro-Alexandrovsk to Tashkent; the great 
difficulty, however, was the scarcity of fuel, for they had to 
burn wood instead of coal. It was very difficult to carry a 
sufficient supply of this article, which was very bulky, for a 
long journey, while the expense to the Government was enor¬ 
mous. 


144 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


The officers in the garrison were unanimous in envying the 
luck of their more fortunate comrades in Kokan, who had 
been engaged during the recent disturbances, and they bitterly 
complained of the slowness of promotion and the dreary exist¬ 
ence at Kasai a. 

“Any thing for a change,” remarked one of them, a dash¬ 
ing little fellow with several medals; “ we are bored to death 
here.” 

“ Yes,” added another, “ when we fight you fellows in India, 
then we shall have some promotion. As to fighting with the 
Ivokandians, we might as well shoot pheasants; none of our 
seniors get killed.” 

“ I don’t think England will interfere with us about Kash¬ 
gar,” remarked an officer, apparently much older than his com¬ 
rades. 

“ Who knows, and who cares ?” said another. “ If we do 
fight, we will shoot at each other in the morning, and liquor 
up together when there is a truce. Come along and have a 
drink;” and with these words he led me into an adjoining 
room, where some servants had just brought in what the Rus¬ 
sians call zakuski — caviare, salt-fish, little bits of bread-and- 
cheese, slices of highly flavored sausage, and spirits of every 
kind. 

I was surprised to find that so few of the party could speak 
French; in fact, there was hardly a lady present who could 
converse in this language; indeed, they did not blush when ac¬ 
knowledging their ignorance. It was quite a pleasure to meet 
with some people who were not ashamed of their own lan¬ 
guage. There is a general opinion in England that Russians 
are good linguists, because their own tongue is so difficult that 
all others become easy to them afterward. This is an entire 
fallacy. The true reason why some Russians speak two or 
three foreign languages well, and with a perfect pronunciation, 
is the attention that is paid to the subject, the more particular¬ 
ly in Moscow and the capital. There the child has an English 
or French nurse as soon as he is able to speak, and he ffiarns 
the foreign languages at the expense of his own, for the pro¬ 
nunciation first acquired is the one to which we generally ad- 


PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN ENGLAND. 


145 


here. By the time he is ten or eleven years old, he often 
speaks French, German, and English, while these languages are 
grammatically studied as he gets older. 

Now, in England we fall into the opposite extreme: we usu¬ 
ally neglect the modern languages, and even omit the study of 
our natural tongue. We occupy the whole of our boy’s scho¬ 
lastic and college career with the study of Latin and Greek, 
imagining that we are laying a good foundation for the lad to 
learn modern languages later on in life, and when he leaves 
college. But this is then a hopeless task: after twenty, it is 
very exceptional to find any one who can tutor himself to a 
new pronunciation. Men, when leaving school or college, have 
generally but little time for further education, and the result 
is that we are, as a nation, the worst linguists in the world. 
As it is, our public schools are kept up for the advantage of 
the masters, who, having been trained themselves in a special 
branch of study, would be ruined if any other system of edu¬ 
cation were insisted upon by the parents. The result is that 
the boy’s education suffers. If, at our public schools, Latin 
and Greek were made to change places in relative importance 
with French and German, many lads, on entering life, would 
find that they had built a two-storied house, instead of having 
merely laid the foundation of an edifice which they will never 
have time to complete. 

The evening wore on. Thicker and thicker grew the clouds 
of tobacco-smoke which escaped from the lips of the smokers. 
Some servants now brought in tw r o magnificent sturgeons, which 
were placed on the supper - table. The host walked up to his 
different guests and invited them to partake. Tobacco did not 
affect the appetites of the party, and a bite and then a whiff 
would often be indulged in by some of the guests. Wines of 
all kinds were placed on the table, and the clinking of Cham¬ 
pagne-glasses, as the guests pledged their host, mingled fre¬ 
quently with the conversation. 

“ So you are going to Kashgar ?” said a young officer, who 
had been so kind as to point out to me the different celebrities 
of the evening. 

“ No.” 


7 


146 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


“Why do you not go there?” he continued. “You would 
meet a quantity of English officers who are teaching Yakoob 
Bek’s men to fight.” 

“ Do not talk politics,” said another, his senior. “ Of course 
we shall have to fight England some day; but the English, al¬ 
though they fought against us in the Crimea, were much better 
fellows than the French.” 

Trays were now brought in with dishes containing small 
beefsteaks and fried potatoes, which were replaced at intervals 
of about half an hour by fresh courses; but it was getting very 
late, and with difficulty I could keep my eyes open. It was ten 
days since I had taken off my clothes to sleep, and a sleigh 
journey over the steppes takes a little out of any man’s consti¬ 
tution. 

Fortunately my host observed my inability to keep awake, 
and volunteered to show me my sleeping apartment. 

“You have brought your bed-linen?” he remarked. “But 
of course you have. You are too old a soldier not to have 
done soand with these words he shut a door which separated 
me from the rest of the company. 

I had fortunately, in anticipation of some such event, brought 
an air mattress from England. It did not weigh above two or 
three pounds, was easily inflated, and very portable. This, be¬ 
ing blown up and placed on the floor, made a capital couch; 
while, as I had no sheets or blankets with me, I did what the 
Russians do under similar circumstances, and lay down with my 
pelisse as a blanket. The door of the apartment was thin. The 
partition-wall which separated my room from those occupied 
by the guests offered little impediment to the sound; but ring¬ 
ing laughter and jingling of glasses do not keep a man from 
sleeping if he is once really exhausted, and I speedily became 
lost to consciousness. 


MORNING ABLUTIONS. 


147 


CHAPTER XIX. 

Ablutions under Difficulties.—The Turkomans.—An Escort of Cossacks.— 
The Khan and his Executioner.—In Search of Horses.—Provisions for 
the March.—Snow instead of Water.—Exceptional Winter.—Frozen to 
Death.—The Unclean Animal.—Kirghiz Amazons.—Ural Cossacks.— 
Dissenters and the Tzar.—The Town of Kasala and Fever.—Kibitkas.— 
Mr. MacGahan and the Fair Sex.—A Wife for One Hundred Sheep.— 
The Matrimonial Lottery.—A Russian Officer.—Liquor is the only Thing 
worth living for.—Shadows of War. 

The following morning, at ten, Nazar, coming into my room, 
informed me that Colonel Golofl: was dressing, and that break¬ 
fast would soon be ready. 

On asking for a basin, I was informed that it was not the 
custom to wash in the sleeping apartment, but that a regular 
room was set aside for this purpose. I was then taken into a 
sort of scullery, with a sink and large copper utensil. In the 
last-mentioned article was a supply of water. This, on pulling 
a string attached to a plug in the vessel, streamed out from an 
aperture in the side. 

It was a primitive sort of arrangement, as I could only wash 
one hand at a time, and very cold, as there was no stove, while 
the icicles hung about the window-frames. Under these cir- 
cumstances the morning ablutions became a tedious process, 
and rather a pain than a pleasure. 

The colonel now entered my room, and invited me to break¬ 
fast. The repast was of a frugal nature; it merely consisted 
of tea and dry bread, more substantial food being considered 
quite out of place at such an hour of the day, the habit the 
Russians have of eating supper in the early hours of the morn¬ 
ing not being conducive to appetite. 

My host then informed me that he had himself been five 
times to Petro-Alexandrovsk. 

The Turkomans, he said, gave a great deal of trouble, as they 


148 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


crossed the Oxus when the river was frozen, and made frequent 
raids upon the Kirghiz, carrying off their sheep and cattle. In¬ 
deed, on this account he thought that it would be better for me 
to have an escort of Cossacks; “ for then,” he added, “ it can 
accompany you to our fort, and Colonel Ivanoff, the chief of the 
Amu Darya district, will send you on to Khiva, which is about 
sixty miles from Petro-Alexandrovsk, with a fresh escort.” 

On asking what would happen to me if I were to visit the 
khan’s capital alone and unprotected— 

“ That would never do !” he said. “ Why, the khan would 
very likely order his executioner to gouge out your eyes, or 
would keep you in a hole in the ground for five or six days be¬ 
fore he admitted you to an audience. The Khivans are very 
dangerous people.” 

I thanked him very heartily for the information, which, I 
dare say, was given in a friendly spirit. It was refreshing to 
find that the good Governor of Kasala valued my life so highly, 
and I shall always feel deeply indebted to him for his kindness. 

He now promised to get me a guide; and, ringing a bell, 
desired the servant to send for a Kirghiz officer. The latter 
would be able to communicate with his countrymen, and tell 
them that I wanted to buy some horses, for the journey would 
have to be accomplished on horseback, and it was impossible 
to hire any animals in Kasala. 

Camels would also be required, and a kibitka, or circular tent. 
As for provisions, the colonel recommended me to take some 
stchi—cabbage-soup, with meat cut up in it. This, he declared, 
was very portable, as it would become frozen and keep for any 
amount of time, while it might easily be carried in iron stable- 
buckets. The principal difficulty for a traveler, in his opinion, 
was the forage: a sufficient supply of it must be taken for a 
fourteen days’ journey, twelve pounds of barley per diem be¬ 
ing the ordinary allowance for a horse. This would add enor¬ 
mously to the weight of baggage, as for three horses we should 
require thirty-six pounds of barley a day, or 504 pounds for 
the march. According to the colonel, I need not burden the 
caravan by taking a supply of water, as in all probability there 
would be snow on the ground the whole way. However, I 


NAZAR ACTING AS INTERPRETER. 


149 


had better purchase some sacks, so that in the event of it ap¬ 
pearing likely that any part of the route before us were thinly 
covered, we could put some in our sacks, and thus carry it on 
the camels. 

The cold would be my greatest enemy, as the winter we 
were then experiencing was the most severe he had ever known 
at Kasala, and several people had been recently frozen to death. 
When we had finished our breakfast, the governor left me till 
dinner, which he said would be on the table about 2 p.m., and 
departed to go through his routine of duties, when I determined 
to walk through the town and look at the Kirghiz population. 

I took Nazar with me to act as interpreter, in the event of 
my wishing to converse with any of the inhabitants who could 
not speak Russian. The little man was full of admiration at 
the splendor and luxury in the governor’s residence, and de¬ 
scribed to me in glowing terms the magnificent banquet he had 
partaken of the previous evening; his only fear being lest in 
some disguised form or other he had eaten of the unclean ani¬ 
mal, for this is a sore point with the Tartars, as, indeed, with 
all other Mohammedan nations. The bazaar, he said, would 
not be open, on account of its being a feast-day; and lie had 
been to the Treasury to change some money, and found that 
this establishment was also closed. Presently some Kirghiz 
men and women rode by, the latter sitting astride their horses, 
and managing their palfreys with the most consummate ease 
and grace. 

We now met some Bokharans and Khivans, the marked 
Jewish type and swarthy faces of the former contrasting 
strongly with the Khivans, who were several shades lighter in 
complexion. Every one, man , or woman, was enveloped in 
some kind of fur or other, and not a particle of their skin was 
left uncovered, save just above the eyes. 

A few Cossacks from the Ural, who were exiled from their 
far-off home, walked in little knots before their dwelling-houses, 
some discussing the chance of a pardon and a return to their 
families at Uralsk, others the hardship of a journey to Khivan 
territory, whither it was rumored they were shortly to be sent. 
Many of these men appeared to be considerably past their 


150 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


prime, and the journey to Kasala must have been a very trying 
one for them. Their one idea was that the emperor himself 
had not wished their offense to be punished in so stern a man¬ 
ner ; and that the order for their banishment had been obtained 
through some source, which, unfavorable to the dissenters, had 
exaggerated the facts of the case to the Tzar. 

The town of Kasala was kept in a very dirty state, and did 
not reflect credit on those authorities whose duty it was to see 
after such matters. Filth and ordure were strewed about the 
thoroughfare; and if it had not been for the extreme frost, 
which kept every thing congealed, the effect upon the atmos¬ 
phere would have been any thing but pleasant. Indeed, it is a 
wonder that more sickness does not ensue, the more particular¬ 
ly in the early spring. In houses where there is a certain pre¬ 
tension to wealth and comfort the refuse is never removed, and 
the retiring-rooms are left in a state which must be seen to be 
believed; indeed, any attempt at description would inevitably 
disgust the reader. The result is that when the cold takes its 
departure and a thaw sets in, the houses become a hot-bed of 
fever, while the death-rate among the population is often 
doubled. 

On the outskirts of the town some Kirghiz had pitched their 
kibitkas. These tents are the homes of the nomad tribes, and 
are carried by them on camels from place to place. One of 
these abodes was adorned inside with thick carpets of various 
hues, and bright-colored cushions, on which the inmates reposed. 
A small fire in the centre of the apartment gave out a thick 
white smoke, which wreathed itself round in serpent-like coils, 
till, gradually reaching the roof, it escaped through an aperture 
left for that purpose. Very pungent and trying to the eyes 
was this dense atmosphere—a wood, or rather sort of bram¬ 
ble, called saksaool, which is found in large quantities on the 
steppes, being used for fuel. The women in the tent appeared 
to have no fear of strangers, and did not cover up their faces 
as is the custom among other Mohammedan races; they were 
evidently delighted at our visit, and, putting down fresh rugs 
on the ground, invited me to sit by their side. As a rule, there 
could not be much said of the beauty of their appearance; in- 


A WIFE FOR ONE HUNDRED SHEEP. 


151 


deed, making every allowance for Mr. MacGahan’s advocacy of 
the fair sex in Tartary, I can not help thinking that the ener¬ 
getic correspondent is either extremely susceptible or else very 
easily pleased, as a moon-faced, red-clieeked girl, the acme of 
perfection from a Kirghiz point of view, does not quite answer 
to my ideas of a beauty. Most of the women have good eyes 
and teeth, but the breadth of the face and the size of the mouth 
take off from these advantages; while the girls are not at all 
graceful, although on horseback they appear to perfection. 

An elderly man, clad in a long brown dressing-grown, thickly 
wadded to keep out the cold, was the proprietor of the kibitka. 
Pouring some water into a huge caldron, which was suspended 
from a tripod over the fire, he proceeded to make the tea, while 
a young girl handed round some raisins and dried currants. 
The inmates were surprised when I told them that I was not a 
Russian, but had come from a land far away toward the setting 
sun. 

“ Anglitchanin ” (Englishman), said Nazar; and the party 
gravely repeated the word Anglitchanin. One of the men now 
inquired if I had brought my wife with me, and he was aston¬ 
ished on hearing that I was unprovided Avith a helpmate, the 
whole party being of the opinion that such an appendage was 
as necessary to a man’s happiness as his horse or camel. 

The Kirghiz have one great advantage over the other Mo¬ 
hammedan races—they have the opportunity of seeing the girls 
whom they wish to marry, and of conversing with them before 
the bargain is concluded with their parents, one hundred sheep 
being the average price given for a young woman. Among 
those Tartars who have fixed residences, and who do not mi¬ 
grate from place to place, this state of things is not allowed. 
Here the man who wishes to buy a wife has to run a consider¬ 
able risk, for he seldom has an opportunity of judging of her 
looks, temper, or disposition. The girl always keeps her face 
covered when in public, and is concealed from the men as much 
as possible. The man’s mother, or some other female relative, 
occasionally acts as his agent, and arranges so that her client 
may be hidden behind some cupboard in their house. They 
then invite the girl to visit them, when the latter, thinking 


152 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


lierself alone, is induced to uncover her face. The suitor now 
makes a mental calculation as to how much she is worth. The 
bidding then commences, the young lady’s parents asking at 
first much more than they will eventually take. 

“ She has sheep’s eyes, and is lovely,” says her mother. 

“ Yes,” replies the female relative, the wife-seeker’s advocate, 
“ she has sheep’s eyes, but is not moon-faced, and has no hips 
whatever! Let us say two hundred rubles.” 

And so the bidding goes on, until eventually, the bargain be¬ 
ing concluded, the ceremony, such as it is, takes place, very few 
preliminaries being considered necessary. 

“ Do you like Kasala ?” I inquired of the best-looking of the 
girls. 

“ No,” replied an aged female, not giving the maid I ad¬ 
dressed time to speak; “ we all prefer the steppes.” And with 
these words she glanced contemptuously at her daughter, who, 
as Nazar afterward informed me, liked the slight civilization 
that Kasala was able to afford better than the beauties of nat¬ 
ure and the trackless wastes in Tartary. 

On leaving the kibitka, I proceeded to Morozoff’s hostelry to 
call upon a young Russian officer, to whom I had been in¬ 
troduced the previous evening. I found my acquaintance at 
home. He inhabited a small room in company with another 
officer, who had been waiting for six weeks to join his regiment 
at Petro - Alexandrovsk, and who, to all appearance, did not 
much fancy the journey, as he was still at Kasala when I re¬ 
turned there six weeks later. 

The room was fitted up very simply. The furniture con¬ 
sisted of two small bedsteads; some colored French prints 
and photographs were suspended from the walls, while a few 
books and two strong wooden chairs completed the arrange¬ 
ments. 

The officers were glad to see a visitor, and have an opportu¬ 
nity of talking about St. Petersburg. One of them at once 
produced some bottles of vodki, and was much surprised to 
find that I was not addicted to strong drinks. “You do not 
mean to say that the officers in your army do not get drunk ?” 
he said. “ Why, liquor is the only thing worth living for!” 


RUSSIAN OFFICERS. 


153 


and he tossed off a tumbler of the pure spirit. The main dif¬ 
ficulty, however, was to disabuse my friends’ minds of the idea 
that I had been sent out by the English Government, and that 
the authorities at home paid for my expenses. 

“And so you might have spent all your leave of absence in 
St. Petersburg, and yet only remained there ten days! How 
very strange!” said the elder of the two, evidently wondering 
how I could have stopped for so brief a time at this Elysium in 
the eyes of a Russian officer. 

This gentleman had been in the Guards, but, like many of 
his comrades, had outstripped his allowance and run into debt. 
In consequence of this he had been removed to an appointment 
at Kasala, which happened at that time to be vacant; and my 
young friend now found himself acting as a sort of police mag¬ 
istrate—rather a change from his former life at St. Petersburg. 
Existence in the fort, according to him, was fearfully dull— 
hardly any female society, and but little to do. Now, at Khiva 
there was always the prospect of a war with the Turkomans, 
or some little excitement in the shape of a rebellion to sup¬ 
press, and then men might have a chance of seeing service. 

In fact, you can not be with Russian officers in Central Asia 
for half an hour without remarking how they long for a war. 
It is very natural; and the wonder to my mind is why Russia 
has not extended herself still farther in Central Asia. Indeed, 
if it had not been for the emperor, who is, by all accounts, op¬ 
posed to this rapid extension of his dominions, the Russians 
would already be on our Indian frontier. Nothing would be 
so popular with the officers in Central Asia—or, indeed, for the 
matter of that, in European Russia also—as a war with En¬ 
gland about India ; and as the only public opinion wdiich can 
be said to exist in the Tzar’s empire is represented by the mili¬ 
tary class, which in a few years will absorb all the male popu¬ 
lation of the nation, we ought to be thoroughly prepared for 
any emergency. Indeed, should Russia be permitted to annex 
Kashgar, Balkh, and Merve, an invasion of India would be by 
no means so difficult or impossible as some people would have 
us believe. Russia, if her reserves were called out, would be 
able to dispose of 1,300,000 men. In the event of a campaign, 

7* 


A HIDE TO KHIVA. 


154 

the 847,847 men in her active establishment could be reckoned 
upon as available for offensive purposes.* 

The province of Turkistan is the one which most closely 
adjoins our Indian empire. Here, according to Russian data, 
there are 33,893 men. I use the term Russian data, because 
we have no means of knowing whether these figures are accu¬ 
rate, and, at the present moment, the greater part of the forces 
in the Western Siberian, Orenburg, and Kazan districts might 
be concentrated in the neighborhood of Tashkent and Samar- 
cand, and no one in this country would be the wiser. We 


* The Russian Empire is divided into fourteen military districts, most 
of these districts including several governments, which are specified be¬ 
low. The following table shows the number of soldiers in each district: 


DISTRICTS. MEN. 

1. St. Petersburg — This includes the governments of St. 

Petersburg, Novgorod, Pskof, Olonetz, 
Archangel, Esthonia. 84,353 

2. Finland . 14,787 

3. Vilna —Including Vilna, Kovno, Grodno, Vitebsk, Minsk, 

Mohilev, Livonia, and Courland. 93,370 

4. Warsaw —Including Warsaw, Kalisz, Kielce, Lomsha, Lu¬ 

blin, Petrikau, Plock, Siedlec, Suwalki.. 113,686 

5. Kiev —Includes Kiev, Podolia, Volhynia. 58,816 

6. Odessa —Includes Kherson, Ekaterinoslav, Tavrida, and 

Bessarabia. 63,391 

7. Kharkof —Includes Kursk, Oriel, Tchernigov, Poltava, 

Kharkof, and Voronetz. 65,457 


8. Moscow —Includes Moscow, Trer, Jaroslav, Vologda, Kos¬ 

troma, Vladimir, Nijni-Novgorod, Smo¬ 
lensk, Kaluga, Riazan, and Tambov. . . . 85,024 

9. Kazan —Includes Kazan, Perm, Viatka, Simbirsk, and Sa¬ 


mara. 34,300 

10. Caucasus —Includes the provinces of Kuban, Terek, Da¬ 

ghestan, Zakhatali; the governments of 
Tiflis, Erivan, Baku, Stavropol, and Ku- 
tais. 151,161 

11. Orenburg — Orenburg and Ufa. 14 680 

12. Western Siberia . 16256 

13. Kastern Siberia . 18 673 

14. Turkistan —Comprising the government of that name. . 33,893 


Total number of men. .. t .. 847,847 

















TURKISTAN AS A BASE OF MILITARY OPERATIONS. 155 


have no consular agents in any of the towns through which 
these troops would have to march on their road to Turkistan. 
No Englishmen are allowed to travel in Central Asia, and, ow¬ 
ing to the Russian newspapers being completely in the hands 
of the authorities, the information which is published may be 
purposely intended to mislead. If the Governor - general in 
Turkistan were forming large etapes , or depots, of provisions 
and arms in Samarcand, Khiva, and Krasnovodsk, we should be 
equally ignorant until, awaking up one morning, we might dis¬ 
cover that, instead of our having to fight an enemy 2000 miles 
distant from his base of operations, a base had been formed 
within 350 miles of our Indian frontier, which was as well 
supplied with all the requisites for war as St. Petersburg or 
Moscow. 

In the Caucasus there is a standing army of 151,161 men 
within easy water communication of Ashourade. Along the 
valley of the Attrek to Herat there are no natural obstacles to 
impede an advancing force; indeed, if the Afghans, tempted 
by the idea of looting the rich cities in the plains of India, 
were to join an invader, he might give us a little trouble. 


156 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


CHAPTER XX. 

A Priest.—Only one Wife allowed.—Russian Bread.—The Telegraph in 
Turkistan.—General Milutin might change his Mind.—Horse-dealing.— 
Five Pounds for a Horse, Saddle and Bridle, etc.—A Guide.—The Ex¬ 
pedition to Khiva.—The Russian Troops on the March.—Forty Degrees 
below Zero, Fahrenheit. 

On returning to the governor’s, I found that gentleman 
awaiting me for dinner; and in the course of conversation he 
said that the Kirghiz officer had sent round to inform his com¬ 
patriots that I wished to purchase some horses, and that sever¬ 
al animals would be brought for my inspection on the follow¬ 
ing morning. 

The priest now came in: he was a man about thirty, of an 
unwashed appearance, and with long uncombed locks reaching 
half-way down his back. On the colonel’s invitation, he sat 
down by my side. He was a married man, and I now learned 
that Russian priests are allowed to marry; but if their wives 
die, the reverend gentlemen can not marry again. This is not 
a bad rule for the women, as the husbands look after all their 
ailments with the greatest care. Our conversation was chiefly 
about horses, when I discovered that the visitor had one for 
sale, and that this was the object of his visit. The Kirghiz, 
he informed me, do not have their horses shod, except when 
about to travel over very rocky ground. In winter and in 
summer the active little animals traverse the deserts, the hoof 
itself affording ample protection, and a lame or unsound steed 
is with them a rarity, while a hundred miles in a day has fre¬ 
quently been accomplished by some of the Kirghiz horsemen. 

I had arrived at Ivasala at a bad time for a man who, like 
myself, wished to push forward immediately. The following 
morning, on inquiring if any horses had been brought for my 
inspection, I was informed that the festival was not over. The 


RUSSIAN BREAD. 


157 


Kirghiz were still engaged in stuffing themselves with rice and 
mutton, and in drinking sour mare’s milk (koomyes), and could 
not be induced to leave their houses, even on the chance of 
selling a horse to a Christian. I thought that Nazar’s services 
might be put into requisition, so I desired him to go into the 
town and proclaim to his co-religionists that I was prepared to 
give a good price, provided that they could bring me some ani¬ 
mals which would suit. Under other circumstances, I should 
continue my journey along the sleigh road to Fort Perovsky, 
and, buying horses at that spot, ride from there to Petro-Alex- 
androvsk ; my idea being that if the Tartars at Kasala heard 
that I was going to leave the fort and purchase horses else¬ 
where, they would take a little more interest in the matter. 

I also desired him to make arrangements about the prepara¬ 
tion of some stchi, or cabbage-soup, for the journey, and also 
to order forty pounds of bread, of which half was to be made 
as light as possible. The Russian bakers possess the secret 
of making bread which is not much heavier than rusks would 
be if made of the same size as the loaves in question. This is 
a great advantage in the desert, for at times, when no fire-wood 
can be obtained, the ordinary bread becomes so hard frozen 
that it has to be chopped with an axe ; while a knife is utter¬ 
ly useless against the granite-like substance into which the flour 
is converted. Indeed, on one occasion I broke my best knife 
when attempting to cut a loaf of frozen bread. 

My real intentions were not in favor of continuing the jour¬ 
ney to Perovsky, if this could possibly be avoided, for by do¬ 
ing so we should be nearer the capital of Turkistan. St. Pe¬ 
tersburg is now in direct electric communication with Tashkent, 
while I believe that the wire has been recently extended so far 
as Kokan, the distance being about 670 miles from Kasala to 
Tashkent. There was also a wire from St. Petersburg to Orsk, 
which is about 500 miles from Kasala; but any communication 
coming from St. Petersburg would be more likely to pass 
through the head-quarters of General Kauffmann than by an¬ 
other route. I was not very desirous to approach Tashkent 
nearer than was absolutely necessary; as, although I had ob¬ 
tained permission to travel in Russia from General Milutin, the 


158 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


Minister of War, it was not impossible that he might change 
his mind; such, in fact, having been the opinion of my friends 
at St. Petersburg, who had advised me to lose no time on the 
road. 

Nazar’s message to his countrymen proved of the greatest 
use. My departure for Perovsky would have affected them in 
their most susceptible point—the pocket; and, in spite of its 
being feast-time, they proceeded to look up all the animals 
which could be obtained in Kasala. 

Now, the Kirghiz are not like the Arabs in one respect, 
though similar to them in many others. The descendant of 
Ishmael will seldom sell his horses, no matter how much money 
you may offer for these animals; while the Tartars will sell ev¬ 
ery thing they have for money. The result was, they began 
to think that it might be a good occasion to palm off some of 
their lame animals and utterly worthless screws upon the inno¬ 
cent Christian ; or, if I would not fall into the trap set for me 
by the faithful, to take advantage of my inexperience with ref¬ 
erence to the average price of horses in that part of the world, 
and sell me a good animal, but at three times its market value. 
However, the steppe coper is not unique in this respect, and he 
would not get much the best of a London dealer. 

Forthwith there appeared a procession before the governor’s 
house. This was composed of excited natives, looking, many 
of them, like animated bundles of rags, so thickly were they 
enveloped in shreds and tatters. Each of these animated bun¬ 
dles was astride on some sort of quadruped — camels, horses, 
donkeys, all were brought on the scene, forming a comical pict¬ 
ure, which will never be effaced from my memory. The horses 
were, for the most part, of the worst description; that is to 
say, so far as appearance was concerned. Their ribs in many 
instances almost protruded through the skin, the proprietors of 
the quadrupeds having apparently been engaged in solving the 
knotty point as to how near they could reduce them to a straw- 
a-day diet without their animals succumbing to the experiment. 

Don Quixote’s steed, the far-famed Rosinante, was by all ac¬ 
counts not the best-fed of animals, and the poor brutes which 
can be seen each summer expiring beneath the horns of the 


HORSE-DEALING. 


159 


bulls in the Plaza de Toros of Seville do not carry much flesh, 
but many of them would have been equine Daniel Lamberts if 
compared with the horses now brought for my inspection. 

If ever there was a Banting system especially devised for 
four-footed animals, that system had been carried out to its 
fullest extent, and some of the poor beasts were so weak that 
they could hardly move one leg before the other. Except for 
their excessive leanness, they looked more like huge Newfound¬ 
land dogs than as connected with the equine race, and had been 
turned out in the depth of winter with no other covering save 
the thick coats which nature has given them. 

The late Mr. Tattersall himself could not have eulogized any 
animals brought to the hammer more than did these red-faced, 
high-cheek-boned, ferret-eyed Tartars their respective quadru¬ 
peds ; while each man commented on his neighbor’s property 
in terms of scorn and derision. At last, after rejecting a num¬ 
ber of jades which looked more fit to carry my boots than their 
wearer, I selected a little black horse. He was about fourteen 
hands in height, and I eventually became his owner, saddle and 
bridle into the bargain, for the sum of five pounds, this being 
considered a very high price at Kasala. The saddlery was of 
the most gaudy description, the saddle being made of highly 
painted wood, richly decorated with gilding and enamel; while 
a small knob about six inches long, sticking up at the pommel, 
looked especially contrived for the impalement of the rider. 

The following day the Kirghiz official, who had been desired 
to procure a guide, called upon me with a candidate for that 
office. 

The latter was a tall, muscular-looking man, with a cunning 
and avaricious expression about the corners of his mouth when¬ 
ever he indulged in a smile. His head attire consisted of a 
tall black sheep-skin hat, of the sugar-loaf pattern: the thick 
wool around the lower part of it was so arranged as to protect 
his eyes against the glare of the snow. His neck was encircled 
by a dirty goat’s-hair shawl, which had been once white, but 
was now almost of the same hue as his coarse black beard and 
mustache. A bright-yellow dressing-gown, thickly wadded to 
protect the wearer from cold, was girt around his waist by a 


100 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


green sash. Yellow leather trousers were drawn over his lathy 
legs, while an enormous pair of boots, the toes of which were 
turned up and culminated in formidable-looking points — fear¬ 
ful weapons to deliver a kick with—protected his extremities. 
For arms he carried a short cimeter, which was buckled around 
his waist by a narrow leather strap. However, the sword was 
not of much use, as it had been little cared for and was very 
rusty, while the steel of which the cimeter was manufactured 
was of an utterly worthless character. 

He announced himself as ready to guide me to Petro-Alex- 
androvsk, the Russian fort; and his companion, the Kirghiz offi¬ 
cial, said that the man had acted as guide to the troops which 
marched upon Khiva during the expedition against that coun¬ 
try, and that he could he thoroughly depended upon. 

An agreement was soon made by which he was to provide 
me with some camels. He would also bring his own horse, 
while, if I could not find at Kasala an animal worth buying 
for Nazar, the little man should be mounted upon a camel. 
The price the guide first demanded for his services was very 
exorbitant, being three times more than the ordinary tariff; 
however, after a little bargaining, he became more moderate in 
his demands. When every thing had been arranged, he pro¬ 
ceeded in search of some camels, and I determined to start in 
thirty-six hours. 

In the mean time Nazar had tied my recently acquired pur¬ 
chase to a cart which stood in the governor’s orchard, and had 
gone in search of a shoeing smith. I did not know what sort 
of ground would have to be traversed, once we were on the 
other side of Khiva; and if it were of a rocky nature, horse¬ 
shoes would be indispensable. Nose-bags and horse-rugs had 
also to be purchased — two rugs to be put under the saddle, 
while the third was to be strapped above it, and thus to inter¬ 
pose between the seat of the rider and the wooden frame-work 
of the saddle; this being the system adopted in the steppes, and 
with great success, as the horses hardly ever have sore backs. 

The following day I called upon the commandant to say 
good-bye, and thank him for all his kindness. He informed 
me, in the course of our conversation, that the Russian troops 


AN EXCEPTIONAL WINTER. 


161 


which marched against Khiva carried nothing but their arms 
and ammunition, their great-coats and knapsacks having been 
transported on camels. Occasionally, he said, the men would 
accomplish fifty versts (thirty-three miles) in a day. At times 
the heat was very great, and the troops were then only served 
out with tea and biscuits, as meat was supposed to have an in¬ 
jurious effect upon their marching powers. The Kirghiz, he 
said, lived entirely upon milk during the hot weather, and only 
killed their sheep in the winter months, or when obliged by 
sheer necessity. The nomad tribes could not exist without 
their flocks, which form their chief source of wealth, cattle be¬ 
ing very scarce among them. The Kirghiz, however, possessed 
plenty of horses, and a man’s riches would not be estimated by 
the number of rubles he had, as in Russia, but by the quantity 
of horses and sheep in his possession. 

“ I am afraid you will have a terribly cold journey,” said 
the old officer, as he shook hands with me and said farewell. 
“ The thermometer was down to 32 degrees below zero, Reau¬ 
mur, yesterday (40 degrees Fahrenheit), and indoors it was 
bad enough. We piled as much wood in the stove as it would 
hold, and sat in our furs all day long, but in spite of this the 
cold made itself felt.” 

The winter we were then experiencing was an exceptional 
one even for that part of the world; and when I returned to the 
governor’s house I found the Kirghiz, who were engaged in put¬ 
ting up a kibitka in the garden for me to look at, grumbling 
as much as the Russians at the cruelty of the elements. 


1G2 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


CHAPTER XXL 

Water Route from Kasala to Petro-Alexandrovsk.—The Irkibai Route.— 
The Winter-march Route.—General Perovsky.—His Expedition.—Loss 
of Nine Thousand Camels.—New-year’s-day.—Two out of Ten Cossacks 
Frozen to Death.—Major Wood and the Survey of the Oxus.—Strug¬ 
gling into the Saddle.—Your Horse is Tough.—Ophthalmia.—Cotton 
Bales. — The Mohammedans and the Deity.—Fatalism. — The Will of 
Allah. 

The water route to Petro-Alexandrovsk was closed to me by 
tbe frost, but it affords easy communication in summer with 
the Khivan khanate. Indeed, should the Russian Government 
ever permit Englishmen to travel in their Asiatic dominions, 
Khiva will probably become known to Mr. Cook, and on the 
list of his personally conducted tours. However, besides the 
water route by the Jaxartes, Sea of Aral, and Oxus, there are 
several land routes, used respectively in summer and winter. 

One way of reaching Petro-Alexandrovsk is the track taken 
by the column which marched from Kasala on Khiva during 
the war. This route, striking slightly to the south-east, brings 
the traveler to the Irkibai ford, and then, diverging to the 
south-west, continues to Kiptcliak. From there the traveler 
can proceed along the banks of the Amu Darya River to with¬ 
in a short distance of the fort. This is a very circuitous 
route, the great advantage it possesses being a sufficient sup¬ 
ply of wells on the road to make it a practicable one during 
the summer months, the climate of the Kirghiz steppes being 
just as remarkable by its intense heat during June, July, and 
August, as by its extreme cold throughout the winter. Wyld’s 
map of Khiva and the surrounding territories shows this line 
of march, which occupies about twenty-five days, very correctlv. 

Then there is another road, which is known as the winter- 
march road. This is by far the shortest way from Kasala to Pe¬ 
tro-Alexandrovsk, the Russian fort in Khivan territory. This 


DETAILS OF ROUTE. 


1G3 


road leads almost due south past Utch Utkul to Kenderli, 177 
miles from Fort Number One ; then, diverging slightly to the 
east for about sixty miles, it turns south to Karabatoor, 303 
miles distant from the starting-point. Finally, after passing 
Tady Kazgan, Kooktche, and Kilte Moonar, it leads straight to 
Petro-Alexandrovsk, which is 360 miles from Kasala. 

This road, however, is impracticable in summer, as there are 
scarcely any wells along it, and those which exist generally 
contain water so salt and brackish as to be fit for camels alone, 
while human beings and horses can drink it only when reduced 
to extreme necessity. Along this route there are wells at Ba- 
laktay, forty miles from Kasala; at Berd Kazgan, forty-two 
miles farther on, there is more water ; the traveler then must 
journey for ninety-five miles to Kenderli, where there are some 
very brackish wells; and from thence it is 123 miles to Kara¬ 
batoor, where first you find water fit for human consumption. 
After this there is a plentiful supply of water till you reach 
Petro-Alexandrovsk. 

I enter thus minutely into details about this route, as it is 
not marked down in any English map that I have seen, and in 
the one in my possession it is not shown accurately, Karaba¬ 
toor being represented as close to the Oxus, whereas in reality it 
is fifty-three miles from that river. I am not aware that the 
above-mentioned road has been traveled by any Englishman 
save myself; indeed, it is seldom used except by the Tartars or 
Cossacks on their way to and from Khiva, and when the snow, 
which covers the ground for ten weeks in the year, supplying 
the place of water, renders the journey possible. 

It is a very arduous march, however, and one which requires 
a great many preparations beforehand, as every thing has to be 
taken by the traveler in the shape of provisions for himself, 
barley for his horses, and occasionally fuel to burn in those 
places where saksaool, the fire-wood of the steppes, is not to be 
found. He must also not forget bags to carry snow, should it 
appear likely that for any long distance there will be a defi¬ 
ciency of this substitute for water. The result was, I found that 
for myself, whose only personal luggage consisted of a change 
of clothes, a few instruments, and my gun, and for my Tartar 


104 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


servant, I could not do with less than three camels and two 
horses. 

It will be easy, from these few details, to imagine the prepa¬ 
rations which General Perovsky had to make in the year 1839, 
when he attempted to take Khiva in the winter, and why he 
failed. Intense frost, heavy snow-storms, and want of provis¬ 
ions compelled him to retire when only half - way from Oren¬ 
burg, having lost two-thirds of his men, nine thousand camels, 
and an immense quantity of horses, from illness, cold, and 
hunger—the expense of the expedition amounting to six and 
a half millions of rubles. The sum for those days appears a 
large one, but it is not so if we consider that the invading col¬ 
umn consisted of three and a half battalions of infantry, two 
regiments of Ural, and four sotnias, or 750 Orenburg Cossacks, 
besides twenty-two guns and a rocket-battery—in all, of four 
thousand five hundred men, accompanied by a large intendance, 
and, in addition to horse transport, ten thousand camels, with 
two thousand Kirghiz drivers. 

It may be thought that the Khivan enemy assisted in the 
destruction of the Russian expedition. But this was not the 
case : the greater part of Perovsky’s forces never saw the foe, 
and there were only slight engagements with advanced parties, 
in each of which the khan’s troops were put to flight. 

The cold on New-year’s-day, 1876, Russian style, or the 12th 
of January according to our calendar, was the greatest I ever 
remember to have experienced. The sentries posted outside 
the governor’s and commandant’s houses were obliged to wear 
the thickest of galoches stuffed with hay, and to keep running 
backward and forward the whole time they were on duty, to 
keep their feet from freezing. The instant any man left the 
house his mustache was frozen into a solid block of ice; and 
if his nose were exposed to the wind for a minute or so, it 
turned first blue and then white; while, as to touching any 
thing in the shape of metal with the bare hand, you might as 
well have taken hold of red-hot iron. 

Every thing was ready for a start. Three camels and a 
Turkoman driver were at the door laden with the kibitka, for¬ 
age, etc. The governor had given his last instructions to the 


COSSACKS FROZEN TO DEATH. 


165 


Kirghiz guide, and duly impressed upon his mind that he was 
to be sure to take me straight to the fort. I had declined the 
offer of an escort. Indeed, it would have been hard upon the 
poor Cossacks, giving them a long, useless journey over the 
steppes, merely on account of the Turkomans: and it was as 
well I did so; as, out of a party of ten soldiers at that time 
marching from Petro-Alexandrovsk, I was subsequently inform¬ 
ed that two had been frozen to death and several others frost¬ 
bitten, the uniform of a Cossack not being nearly so proof 
against the onslaught of the elements as the thick furs, sheep¬ 
skins, etc., which can be worn by a private individual. 

My guide rode his own horse—one, if possible, a little thin¬ 
ner than mine—while the little Tartar servant, who was seated 
on a huge corn-sack, balanced on the other side by a bundle of 
fire-wood, and perched upon the tallest of the camels, smiled 
lugubriously as he bid farewell to his numerous acquaintances, 
and, turning to me, said, 

“ Please God we shall not be frozen!” 

To which I devoutly replied, 

“ Inshallah.” 

In spite of some drawbacks to the road selected—such as our 
being obliged to use melted snow instead of water, and to car¬ 
ry more fire-wood than would be required along the other 
track—for me it possessed several advantages. 

First of all, I could get to Petro-Alexandrovsk in half the 
time employed if I took the Irkibai route; and, secondly, I 
should see a new track, or at least one which was not marked 
on Mr. Wyld’s map of Khiva; while, however much I might 
wish to visit Khiva in the summer, and sail across the Sea of 
Aral, circumstances over which I had no control would prevent 
my carrying this into execution. 

For provisions I had supplied myself with stclii, or cabbage- 
soup, with large pieces of meat cut up in it. This, poured into 
two large iron stable-buckets, had become hard frozen, and was 
thus easily carried slung on the back of a camel. Twenty 
pounds’ weight of cooked meat were also taken, and a hatchet 
to chop up our frozen food, or to cut down brush-wood for a 
fire ; while a cooking-lamp, with a supply of spirit to be used 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


166 

under the mess tins, in the event of our fuel running short, 
made up the baggage. 

Although I had hired the camels as far as Petro-Alexan- 
drovsk, I had not the slightest intention of going there if it 
could be avoided. I had the permission of General Milutin, 
the Russian Minister of War, to travel in Russian Asia, and con¬ 
sidered myself at liberty to change my direction at pleasure 
without consulting any officers subordinate to him in the Rus¬ 
sian service. 

However, the rumors which had reached my ears about Ma¬ 
jor Wood’s journey made me rather doubtful as to whether 
General Milutin might not change his mind, and I had a very 
strong presentiment that I should never see Khiva if, like my 
compatriot, I once were to find myself in Fort Petro-Alexan- 
drovsk. Indeed, as I subsequently learned from Major Wood’s 
lips, he had never been permitted to go within sixty versts of 
the Khan’s capital; and when he expressed a wish to Colonel 
Ivanoff, the commandant of the garrison, to be allowed to see 
Khiva, that officer informed him that there was a strict order 
from General Kauffmann on this subject, and no such permis¬ 
sion could be granted. 

Since Major Wood’s departure, the river Oxus has been sur¬ 
veyed for a considerable distance beyond the fort; and it is to 
be hoped that when a more extended survey takes place the 
military authorities at St. Petersburg will ask Major Wood to 
participate in it. It is as important to Englishmen as to Rus¬ 
sians to know how far the mighty stream is navigable. An¬ 
other reason also induced me to ride to Khiva without going 
to Petro-Alexandrovsk; for in the event of the Russian com¬ 
mandant permitting me to enter the capital, which was highly 
improbable, I felt convinced that it would be with an escort, 
and then I should be taken about to see everv thins: couleur de 
rose , or as the Russians would like me to see it, and not be per¬ 
mitted to take my time and wander, free and unrestrained, about 
the city. I was also curious to know whether the Khivan sov¬ 
ereign was as great a barbarian as the Russians made him out 
to be. 

It was only after a great deal of struggling that I managed 


CROSSING THE SYR DARYA RIVER. 


16V 


to get into the saddle ; for although my horse was only four¬ 
teen hands high, my sheep-skin clothes and other thick gar¬ 
ments were very heavy, and could not have weighed less than 
fifty pounds. The stirrup - irons also, though huge of their 
kind, were barely large enough, as Nazar had covered them 
with felt, so as to prevent my feet freezing to the steel. 

The little animal groaned as I gained my seat. The guide 
here made a remark to Nazar, and a wolfish expression passed 
over his countenance, which wore a hungry sort of look, and 
he glared at my horse in such a peculiar manner that it at¬ 
tracted my attention. 

“ What does he say, Nazar ?” I inquired. 

“ He says that your horse has very little fat, but that he is 
tough,” was the reply. 

“ I hope so,” I observed; “ the poor beast has to carry me 
a long way, and he is very much overweighted.” 

“No, sir, you do not understand me,” continued my domes¬ 
tic. “ He means that when your horse breaks down and we 
have to kill him, he will be very tough food.” 

“ What! you do not intend to say that the fellow wants to 
eat my horse ?” I remarked, indignantly. 

“ Oh yes; the brute will never get to Petro-Alexandrovsk; 
and then we will all have such a feast!” And my little Tartar’s 
eyes glistened as much as the guide’s had done, as he gloated 
over the anticipated banquet, horse-flesh being considered a 
great delicacy by the inhabitants of those regions. 

We soon crossed the Syr Darya River, the Jaxartes of an¬ 
cient history, which bathes the southern side of Fort Number 
One. A high-road had been made over its frozen surface, 
which glistened beneath the rays of a midday sun like a vast 
sheet of burnished steel. The steamers belonging to the Aral 
fleet lay imbedded in the ice, the black funnels and smoky ap¬ 
pearance of the vessels contrasting strongly with the bright 
colors worn by the peasantry who strolled along the banks. 

A few exiled Cossacks from Uralsk were grouped together 
busily engaged conversing with a Tartar, who had just arrived 
from Orenburg. They were trying to learn some tidings of 
the old folks at home; while two wild-looking Kirghiz were 


168 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


haggling with a knot of Khivans, the latter wishing to buy a 
sheep which the natives had for sale. 

A little way from the town we came upon hundreds of 
cotton-bales lying scattered along the path. No one was left 
in charge of them, and the huge bundles seemed at the dis¬ 
posal of any would-be thief. It appeared that they had been 
brought from Bokhara. The camel - drivers had gone on to 
Kasala to feast with their friends in that town, but would re¬ 
turn when the festival was over, and then continue the journey 
to Orenburg. In the mean time their master’s property was 
left in the steppe, this affording a striking proof of the happy- 
go-lucky disposition of the Tartar camel-drivers. 

“Will not some of the cotton be stolen?” I inquired of 
Nazar. 

“ If God pleases,” was the pious answer. 

The Mohammedans invariably throw upon the Deity the re¬ 
sponsibility for any mischance that may occur through their 
own negligence, the doctrine of fatalism thus covering a mul¬ 
titude of sins. 

I subsequently discovered that the only way to impart a 
little circumspection to my careless camel-driver when, after 
smashing my boxes, he excused himself on the ground that the 
Almighty had been the cause of his disaster, was to administer 
to the delinquent a slight chastisement. This having been in¬ 
flicted, I exclaimed, “ Brother, it was the will of God; you 
must not complain. It was your destiny to break my proper¬ 
ty, and mine to beat you. We neither of us could help it, 
praise be to Allah.” 

This method of dealing with my party had a capital effect 
upon them, and much more care w r as afterward taken in load¬ 
ing and unloading the camels. 

Kasala now 7 lay far in our wake, and naught could be seen 
save an endless white expanse. A gale came on. The wind 
howled and whistled, billowing before it broad waves of snow. 
Our eyes began to run, and the eyeballs to ache; the constant 
glare and cutting breeze half blinded us as v 7 e rode. The 
horses voided heavily through the piled-up ridges. The poor 
beasts suffered like ourselves: their eyes were incrusted with 


TINTED SPECTACLES USELESS. 


169 


frozen tears; and it was as mncli as we could do to urge them 
forward. 

I had taken the precaution to bring some tinted spectacles 
from England in order to protect my eyes from this evil, 
which gives rise to many cases of ophthalmia amidst the nom¬ 
ad tribes, the dust and sun in the summer months being nearly 
as trying as the cutting winds and dazzling snow throughout 
the winter. However, my shades proved to be useless. The 
side-springs were made of steel, and directly they touched my 
cheeks I felt as if they had been seared with a red-hot poker. 
There was nothing to be done but to pull my cap well over 
my eyes, and look as best.I could through the dark fur. This 
somewhat shaded the glaring mirror at our feet, and relieved 
the aching pupils. 


8 


170 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


CHAPTER XXII. 

✓ 

Camels.—Their Rate of March—How to divide the Marches.—The Kibit- 
ka.—Better be Cold than Blind.—A Tartar Cook.—The Turkoman’s 
Appetite.—A Khivan Caravan. — Main Road goes to Khiva. — The 
Branch Road to the Fort.—Drinking Tea with the Khivans.—Shelter¬ 
ing the Camels. 

After marching for about five hours, the guide asked me to 
halt the caravan. The sun was fast disappearing in the west, 
as we had started late; and as it is always as well to make a 
short journey on the first day, in order to see how the saddles 
fit, and if the luggage has been well adjusted on the camels, I 
consented, but with the express stipulation that we must strike 
our camp and start again at twelve that night. 

Camels will only feed in the day-time, and the best plan is 
to march them as much as possible during the night. They 
walk very slowly, and as a rule can not go more than two 
miles and a third an hour. This is the average rate of a cara¬ 
van; however, they walk a little faster at night than during 
the day, so it is always as well to halt at sunset and start at 
midnight, unloading the camels for about two hours in the 
day to feed. By this means the traveler ought to get sixteen 
hours per day steady work from his caravan, and march at 
least thirty-seven miles. 

All this time the Turkoman driver and guide were engaged 
in putting up the kibitka. This was intended to screen us from 
the bitterly cold wind which, coming straight from the east, 
whistled across the desert, unchecked by mountain or forest. 

The kibitkas are very simple in their construction. I will 
endeavor briefly to describe them. Imagine a bundle of sticks, 
each five feet three inches in length' and an inch in diameter; 
these are connected with each other by means of some cross¬ 
sticks, through the ends of which holes are bored and leather 
thongs passed. This allows plenty of room for all the sticks 


DESCRIPTION OF A KIBITKA. 


m 


to open out freely; they then form a complete circle about 
twelve feet in diameter and five feet three in height. They do 
not require any forcing into the ground, for the circular shape 
keeps them steady. When this is done, a thick piece of cash- 
mar, or cloth made of sheep’s wool, is suspended from their 
tops, and reaches to the ground. This forms a shield through 
which the wind can not pass. Another bundle of sticks is 
then produced. They are all fastened at one end to a small 
wooden cross about six inches long by four broad. A man, 
standing in the centre of the circle, raises up this bundle in the 
air, the cross upward, and hitches their other ends, by means of 
little leather loops, one by one on the different upright sticks 
which form the circular walls. The result is, they all pull 
against each other, and are consequently self-supporting. An¬ 
other piece of cloth is passed round the outside of this scaffold¬ 
ing, leaving a piece uncovered at the top to allow the smoke 
to escape. One stick is removed from the uprights which 
form the walls. This substitutes a door, and the kibitka is 
completed. 

A fire is now lighted in the middle of the tent, some snow 
put in a kettle, which is suspended from a tripod of three sticks 
above the flames, and, under the influence of a few glasses of 
scalding tea, the wayfarer makes himself as comfortable as cir¬ 
cumstances will admit. 

However, the smoke from the damp wood filled the tent. 
It was of so pungent a character that we found it impossible 
to keep on the roof. Our eyes, which had suffered from the 
wind and glare, now smarted from the smoke, and it was im¬ 
possible to keep them open. 

“ The wood is damp,” said the guide; “ better be cold than 
be blind and, unhooking the upper frame-work of the kibitka, 
he left only the walls standing. 

It was a glorious evening; the stars as seen from the snow- 
covered desert were brighter and more dazzling than any I had 
hitherto witnessed. From time to time some glittering meteor 
would shoot across the heavens. A momentary track of vivid 
flame traced out its course through space. Showers of orbs 
of falling fire flashed for one moment, and then disappeared 


172 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


from our view. Myriads of constellations and worlds above 
sparkled like gems in a priceless diadem. It was a magnificent 
pyrotechnic display, Nature being the sole actor in the specta¬ 
cle. It was well worth a journey even to Central Asia. 

In the mean time the guide, who took upon himself the 
office of chef de cuisine, was occupied with an iron pot, his 
special property. He was busily engaged throwing into this 
receptacle slices of meat, which with difficulty he had hacked 
from a piece of frozen mutton. A few handfuls of rice were 
next added, and some hunches of mutton fat. This he ex¬ 
tracted from a hiding-place in his clothes, and the culinary 
compound was speedily crackling over the red-hot embers of 
our fire. 

It was not a very appetizing spectacle, nor a dish that Baron 
Brisse would have been likely to add to any of his menus; but 
after a ride across the steppes in midwinter the traveler soon 
loses every other feeling in the absorbing one of hunger, and 
at that time I think I could have eaten my great-grandfather 
if he had been properly roasted for the occasion. 

Nazar’s face assumed a most voracious aspect. Seizing a 
large wooden ladle, he buried it in the cooking mass; then, 
first of all filling his own mouth, with a look of supreme satis¬ 
faction he handed me the ladle. 

The guide, baring his arm to the elbow, plunged his hand 
into the pot, and, throwing about a quarter of a pound of its 
contents within his capacious jaws, bolted it at one swallow. 
His eyes nearly started out of his head with the effort. He 
smiled condescendingly; pointed to the viands, the result of 
his culinary skill; and, rubbing his stomach slowly, gave me 
to understand that the meat was done to a turn. 

The Turkoman sat in a corner of the kibitka. He was tak¬ 
ing some little square biscuits or cakes, made of flour, salt, and 
fat, from a small bag which had been attached to the saddle of 
his donkey. His countenance wore a melancholy expression, 
for the biscuits were frozen as hard as brickbats. From time 
to time he would lay one of the cakes upon the embers, and 
when it was thawed through, hand it to one of my party. 
“ Yackshe” (good), he said to me, looking at the smoking mut- 


A KHIVAN CARAVAN. 


173 


ton with a beseeching look, as much as to say, “ Let me, too, 
partakewhen, notwithstanding the disapproving looks of 
Nazar and the guide, who wished to eat it all themselves, I 
desired him to squat down by their side. 

It was a quaint sight, the two wild figures before me, with 
their bare arms thrust alternately into the pot, every now and 
then swearing and looking fiercely at the Turkoman, who, to 
make up for lost time, eat much more rapidly than they did. 
I myself was supplied with a large saucerful of rice and meat, 
which, in spite of the rough manner in which it had been pre¬ 
pared, proved a very savory compound. 

While thus engaged, three Khivans rode up to us. One was 
a merchant who had been to Orenburg. He had there dis¬ 
posed of his cotton-bales, and was now returning to Khiva with 
a supply of Russian goods in the shape of knives, saucers, 
cups, and bright-colored chintzes, such as find a ready sale in 
the khan’s territory. 

He was a strong-built, sturdy fellow, and about five feet ten 
in height. A tall, cone-shaped, black Astrakhan hat covered 
his head; while his body was clad in an orange-colored dress¬ 
ing-gown, thickly quilted, and girt tightly around his loins 
with a long red sash. A heavy sheep-skin mantle enveloped 
him from head to foot, and, with his coal-black beard and 
piercing dark eyes, he would have been worth a large sum to 
an artist as a model. 

For weapons, the Khivan had armed himself with a long 
single-barreled gun. This was ornamented with damasken 
work, and had a large, bell-shaped muzzle. The barrel was 
very thin, and I could not help thinking that the fire-arm, 
should it be discharged, would be much more dangerous to its 
owner than to his foe. A short, richly mounted sabre com¬ 
pleted his offensive arsenal. 

He was accompanied by two countrymen, his servants. They 
kept a careful eye on their master’s goods, and were similarly 
armed. The party would have made the fortune of any Lon¬ 
don stage-manager who might have required some brigands for 
a piece, could they have been placed on the boards as I saw 
them then attired. 


174 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


The merchant had twelve camels and four camel - drivers 
with him, besides five led horses. He himself rode a very nice- 
looking gray, which I afterward tried to purchase, but no offer 
would tempt the owner to part with his animal. 

He could speak a little Russian, having learned that language 
when trading at Orenburg. On my offering him a glass of tea, 
he squatted down by the fire and proposed that we should con¬ 
tinue the journey together, when our united caravans would 
run less risk if attacked by any band of marauding Kirghiz. 
He also informed me that the track on which we had that day 
been traveling led straight to Khiva, but that a little farther on 
the road, at a place known by the Kirghiz as Tan Sooloo, there 
was a branch road which would take us to Petro-Alexandrovsk. 

My guide, however, did not appear much struck with the 
new arrival, and here observed that we w r ere not going to 
Khiva but to the Russian fort, and that his orders were to take 
me to Petro-Alexandrovsk, while Nazar whispered in my ear 
that the Khivan and his followers would be dangerous com¬ 
panions, the more particularly as their party was, numerically 
speaking, far stronger than our own. 

It was evident that neither my servant nor the guide much 
liked the proposed addition to our caravan, the real reason be¬ 
ing that they thought the Khivan’s appetite might perhaps 
surpass the Turkoman’s; and, should I extend my hospitality 
to the former as well as to the camel-driver, there would be lit¬ 
tle left for themselves to eat. 

My mind was soon made up about the matter. I had 
learned one piece of important information. This was with 
reference to the road to Khiva, and I determined, if the mer¬ 
chant could only be persuaded to march as rapidly as ourselves, 
to join his party. 

On mentioning this to Nazar, he shook his head, and re¬ 
marked that we should be at least twenty days reaching Khiva, 
even supposing that our guide would accompany us there, as 
the heavily laden camels of the trader would never be able to 
keep up with our own. The thought then occurred to me that 
the amount of barley I had brought for the horses would only 
last fourteen days, and, hearing from the Khivan’s lips that he 


AT TEA WITH THE KHIYANS. 


175 


did not expect to reach his destination for at least three weeks, 
I gave up the idea. 

After staying at our fireside for about half an hour, the mer¬ 
chant left, and in a short time sent a message by one of his 
servants asking me if I would honor him by drinking tea with 
himself and followers. 

I found the party encamped in a small ravine, about a hun¬ 
dred yards from my own kibitka, and seated round a fire. 
They had sheltered themselves in the same way as ourselves, 
and in addition had raised up an embankment of snow in the 
direction of the wind, so as to be better protected from its gusts. 
The camel-drivers had unloaded their animals, and were engaged 
in shoveling away the snow, so as to leave a dry spot upon which 
the huge beasts could lie down. Should this not be done, and 
the camels rest on the snow, the heat of their bodies converts it 
into water, and the animals get cold in the stomach, an illness 
which generally proves fatal to them. The luggage and saddles 
were placed around the cleared spot so as to protect the camels 
from the wind, and I found that my Turkoman had joined the 
party, and that his three beasts were also within the inclosure. 

The merchant, producing a pillow and piece of carpet, made 
me sit in the place of honor, nearest the fire. Presently he 
handed me a tin slop-basin, full of what he called tea, but which 
was the nastiest beverage it has ever been my bad luck to taste. 
It was not tea, in our sense of the word, but a mixture which 
had a peculiar flavor of grease, salt, and tea-leaves. Swallowing 
my nausea as best I could, in order to avoid offending my host, 
I drank off the nasty draught, and exclaimed, in the best Tar¬ 
tar I could master for the occasion, “ Excellent!” 

My host was much pleased at my appreciation of the bever¬ 
age, and said, “ Now I see that you are not a Russian ” (Nazar 
having previously informed him that I was an Englishman). 
“ Strange to say, Russians do not like my tea. Good tea comes 
from Hindoostan. You will drink some more?” 

Fortunately Nazar now came to my rescue. He called at¬ 
tention to the stars, said that it was late, and that we were go¬ 
ing to start early; so, shaking hands with my host, I escaped 
from his well-meant but decidedly disagreeable hospitality. 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


I i o 


CHAPTER XXIII. 

A Lazy Guide.—A Cold Pig.—Insubordination.—How to awake Arabs.— 

Hot Embers better than Cold Water.—Power of Camels to carry Bur¬ 
dens much Exaggerated.—Quickest Road to a Tartar’s Affections.— 

Sores from Frost-bites. 

I found the guide lying at full length on an old piece of 
carpet, which he had placed by the fire. He showed no readi¬ 
ness to resign his place on my arrival. The little Tartar, how¬ 
ever, soon removed him, for, taking up the cooking-pot, which 
was by that time filled with ice and water, he poured a por¬ 
tion of the contents on the head of the delinquent. The latter 
started up, uttered some fearful language at this summary pro¬ 
ceeding, which he did not seem to relish, then rolling the folds 
of his sheep-skin tighter round his body, he threw himself 
down a few yards farther off from the fire. 

“ We shall have trouble with him,” said my faithful follow¬ 
er ; “ he says that we are not to start till to-morrow morning. 
I told him that you would strike the camp at midnight, and he 
remarked that in that case we should go alone, and that he 
would return to Kasala.” 

It was not pleasant at the outset of the expedition to find 
this insubordination in one of my party, and I felt that the 
only thing for me to do was to bring matters to a climax be¬ 
fore the refractory spirit communicated itself to the camel- 
driver. 

“We shall march at twelve,” I observed; “call me if I am 
not awake;” and, buckling my sheep-skin tightly around me, I 
soon fell fast asleep. 

It is a curious fact that almost every one of us, if we really 
wish to aw T ake at a certain hour, invariably do so, and the more 
frequently a little before the time. The result was that at 
half-past eleven I started up, thinking that I had overslept my- 


A LAZY GUIDE. 


177 


self; but, as half an hour at least was required to saddle and 
load the camels, I determined to awake the guide. 

Walking up to his side, I shook him well; he slowly opened 
his eyes, but, seeing me, emitted a grunt of displeasure and 
turned over again. It is always difficult arousing this class of 
people, particularly when they have once made up their minds 
to sleep till morning. 

In the desert of Africa I used to have the greatest trouble 
with them, one old sheik, who acted as head man to my party, 
being the most sleepy of mortals. However, I invented a 
method of arousing him, which proved invariably efficacious. 
His attire was scanty,, and slightly indecent according to our 
ideas. It merely consisted of a large sheet; this he was wont 
to wind many times round his body, and sleep, thus protected 
from the winds, which are very cutting at night-time in the 
Sahara. No amount of kicking would then awake the old fel¬ 
low, and I found that the best plan was to gradually roll him 
over and over until the piece of calico was unwound, and the 
aged gentleman began to feel the cold breeze against his nude 
body. 

This invariably produced the desired effect; and, arising from 
the sand, he, in his turn, would visit the other camel-‘drivers, 
and perform on them the same operation. However, my Kir¬ 
ghiz guide and Turkoman camel-driver wore no such light ap¬ 
parel. Their sheep-skin garments were tightly buckled round 
their waists, and of course prevented any such action on my part. 

By way of a commencement, I took down the walls of the 
kibitka, allowing the wind to exercise its full sway upon the 
bodies of the sleepers, and then trampled upon the embers of 
our fire. Nazar, who by this time had awaked, now came up, 
and solved the difficulty by putting some hot ashes on the 
guide’s sheep-skin. The fellow had been awake the whole of 
the time, and it was only his obstinacy which prevented him 
from getting up. In fact, no amount of blows would have 
stimulated the man half so much as the fear that his clothes 
should suffer. 

He sprung to his feet, and, casting sundry imprecations upon 
Nazar’s head, proceeded to arouse the Turkoman. 

8 * 


178 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


It was a strange, wild scene, the vast snow-covered steppe 
lighted up as brightly as if it were midday by a thousand con¬ 
stellations, which reflected themselves in the cold white sheet 
below. Not a cloud dimmed the majesty of the heavens; the 
wind had lulled, and no sounds broke the stillness of the night; 
the Khivan and his followers were buried in the arms of Mor¬ 
pheus ; the merchant’s head resting on his richly ornamented 
saddle, while a sword was placed by him ready for instant ac¬ 
tion ; the camel-drivers lay within the inclosure formed by their 
camels; my Turkoman had huddled himself up for warmth 
against the body of our largest quadruped; while his donkey, 
attracted by the warmth of the fire, had hobbled to the embers, 
and was sleeping side by side with the trader. 

The Turkoman resented strongly the unceremonious manner 
in which he had been awakened; and he took hold of the haft 
of his knife, prepared to avenge this kind of treatment. How¬ 
ever, the guide putting his hand upon the hilt of the rusty old 
weapon which was strapped to his side, the camel-driver suc¬ 
cumbed, and helped to pack the tent. 

There was now no more resistance. My men were thorough¬ 
ly aroused, and a few minutes later our camels could be heard 
venting their indignation at being laden by deep, low growls, 
bursting out at intervals, as each beast thought that his own 
load was heavier than that of his fellows. 

There is a good deal of nonsense talked and written about 
the patience and long-suffering of these so-called ships of the 
desert. I should much like any individual who thus sings the 
virtues of these huge animals to ride a thousand miles on a 
camel, as the writer of these lines has done, and find his patient 
quadruped either running away, or else suddenly lying down 
without any forewarning motion. This latter camel eccen¬ 
tricity is most disagreeable, as the rider has his backbone near¬ 
ly dislocated, or otherwise feels as if his body were split up 
by the unexpected concussion. The power of camels to carry 
burdens is also much exaggerated; and although a strong 
beast will carry eight hundred pounds day after day for a short 
journey, he very soon breaks down if you should increase the 
inarch. I had reduced the weight carried by my own animals 


SORES FROM FROST-BITES. 


179 


to four hundred pounds per camel, and even with this light 
load had great difficulty in making them march sixteen hours 
a day. 

Nazar by this time had blown up the embers of the fire into 
a flame, and was ready with some large beakers of boiling tea. 
This beverage becomes an absolute necessity when riding across 
the steppes in midwinter, and is far superior in heat-giving 
properties to any wines or spirits. In fact, a traveler would 
succumb to the cold on the latter when the former will save 
his life. The hot liquid soon put the Turkoman and guide in 
good humor; and the fond way in which they looked at my 
little servant when he handed them each a handful of sugar 
showed me that this difficulty was settled. The quickest road 
to a dog’s affection is through his stomach, and a Tartar’s sym¬ 
pathies lie very much in the same direction. My men had now 
learned that they must obey; and the guide, this having once 
been thoroughly impressed upon his stolid mind, became thor¬ 
oughly amenable to discipline. 

A considerable amount of time, however, had been lost, and 
it was 3 a.m. before we were in the saddle. The Turkoman 
knew the road, and started with Nazar and the caravan, while 
the guide and myself trotted forward at the slow, ambling pace 
peculiar to the animals of the steppes, and which some of them 
can keep up for twenty-four hours on an emergency. It is not 
quite so fast as a huntsman’s average pace when returning with 
his hounds to the kennels, but a much more jolting one, as the 
Kirghiz horses are generally very rough. Indeed, I soon found 
this out to my cost, for the sores on my arms and elbows were 
only half healed over, the limbs not having recovered from the 
effects of the frost-bites inflicted during my sleigh journey. 
Not being able to change my clothes was an additional source 
of annoyance, for if I could only have bathed my arms there 
would have been less suffering; but undressing in those climes 
would only have added fuel to the flame, and created fresh 
frost-bites. 

After about two hours’ riding, the guide suddenly stopped. 
He now proposed that we should wait until the caravan arrived; 
and, hobbling our animals with a piece of cord made of horse- 


180 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


hair, and which the Kirghiz use especially for this purpose, we 
threw ourselves down upon the snow, and tried to sleep. 

No fire could be made, as there were no brambles in the 
neighborhood, and the cold, which was becoming very intense, 
penetrated through my sheep-shin clothes. 

It was impossible to go to sleep, the frost not being of that 
violent nature which utterly prostrates a man, although it was 
quite sufficient to make me feel very uncomfortable. Howev¬ 
er, the guide seemed to be impervious to the weather, while 
some loud snoring informed me that he was lost to conscious¬ 
ness. 

There is a sort of dog-in-the-manger feeling which seizes 
many of us when we see another enjoying that of which we 
can not ourselves partake, and the weakness of human nature 
is such that I felt very much inclined to awake the slumberer, 
and make him teach me a little of the Kirghiz language, in¬ 
stead of letting the fellow rest in peace. However, I resisted 
the temptation, and, lighting a cigarette, walked up and down, 
straining my eyes in the direction of our gradually approach¬ 
ing caravan. I was looking forward to the moment when we 
could once more trot onward, the rough motion of the horse, 
frost-bites and all, not being so hard to bear as this wearisome 
onslaught of the elements, which utterly prevented slumber. 


RETALIATION OF A GUIDE. 


181 


CHAPTER XXIV. 

The Guide’s Retaliation.—Horses’ Nostrils stuffed up with Icicles.—En¬ 
durance of the Horses.—The Brother-in-law’s Horses.—Kalenderhana. 
—A Sudden Thought.—Stchi.—The Women expose their Faces.—The 
Kirghiz Poetry. — Sheep.—A Sign of Manhood in the Bridegroom.— 
Jealous Females. — Feasting. — A Peculiar Pocket. — Games. — Horse¬ 
races.—The Girls and their Admirers.—The Prettiest Girl in the Tribe. 
—A Simple Marriage Ceremony.—But supposing she would not have 
you? 

The sun now arose bright and glorious. All the colors of 
the rainbow lighted up the sky. The wind had calmed, and 
the cold became less searching. Presently my little caravan 
loomed in sight. Nazar was fast asleep, and stretched out at 
full length on the top of a gigantic camel, the little Tartar’s 
legs dangling on each side of the saddle, while, for better secu¬ 
rity, he had strapped himself to a corn-sack. 

The guide now retaliated upon the sleeper for the ducking 
the latter had inflicted upon him the previous evening: he 
seized the camel’s nose, and made that peculiar lisping sound 
which all Tartars use to these animals to make them lie down. 
The big brute went down at once on his knees with a sudden 
jerk, greatly alarming my little servant, who awoke, thinking 
that his strap had broken, and that he had been precipitated to 
the ground. 

In a few minutes we had put up the w T alls of the kibitka, a 
fire was blazing, and one of the buckets containing frozen cab¬ 
bage-soup was gradually becoming thawed over the flames. It 
was just 9 a.m., and the caravan had marched six hours, we 
having, according to the guide, done seventeen miles. What 
had surprised me most during our morning’s march was the 
extreme endurance of our horses. The guide frequently had 
to dismount and to clean out their nostrils, which were entire¬ 
ly stuffed up with icicles; but the little animals had plowed 


182 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


their way steadily through the snow, which was in some places 
quite two feet deep. The one I rode, which in England would 
not have been considered able to carry my boots, was as fresh 
as possible after his march of seventeen miles, and, in spite of 
the weight on his back—quite twenty stone—had never shown 
the least sign of fatigue. 

“ He is a wonderful horse,” I said to the guide. 

“ Horse!” observed the latter, very contemptuously; “call him 
a horse! You should see my brother-in-law’s horses at Kalen- 
derhana, for they are beautiful animals, round and fat.” 

“Where is Kalenderhana?” I inquired. 

“ On this side of the Oxus,” w r as the reply, “ and on the 
main track.” 

“ Not on the road to Petro-Alexandrovsk ?” I observed. 

“ No, on the road to Khiva.” 

A thought then suddenly occurred to me. Why not try 
and persuade the fellow to take me to Kalenderhana under the 
pretext of buying some horses from his brother-in-law? It 
was true that I should still be a good many miles from Khiva; 
but if the guide could only be induced to continue the jour¬ 
ney as far as his brother-in-law’s village, I might then find some 
other excuse to proceed onward, and enter the khan’s capital 
without having put my foot into the Russian fort. 

“ How far is Kalenderhana from Petro-Alexandrovsk ?” I in¬ 
quired. 

“About forty miles.” 

“It is a pity your brother-in-law’s kibitka is so far from 
Petro, for perhaps you are right about this animal. He is 
hardly up to my weight, or fit for so long a journey; howev¬ 
er, as we are going to the fort, I shall buy some horses in that 
neighborhood. I am told that the horses there are very beau¬ 
tiful, that they are round and fat, and they can gallop like 
wind.” 

I had said enough, and it seemed to me that the best course 
to pursue would be to let the conversation drop as if I had no 
particular interest in the matter, and had made up my mind as 
to what I was about to do. Nazar I had gained over to my 
views, having promised him a hundred-ruble note the day we 


STCHI. 


183 


reached either Bokhara or Merve, via Khiva, and the little Tar¬ 
tar was well aware that if we once entered Petro-Alexandrovsk 
he had but little chance of earning his promised reward. 

The guide could not have been persuaded to go to Khiva 
by a mere offer of money. If this had been suggested to him 
he would have become suspicious, and have made a mental 
calculation as to whether it would not have been better worth 
his while to obey the Governor at Kasala and receive a reward 
from him, for having, in spite of my offer, brought me straight 
to the fort, and carried out his instructions to the letter. How¬ 
ever, there is one element in a Kirghiz’s mental composition 
that outweighs every ordinary pecuniary consideration, and that 
is his intense love for horse-dealing; and no Yorkshire farmer 
is keener in this particular branch of commerce than these half¬ 
savage wanderers in the steppes of Tartary. 

The Turkoman, who was superintending the cuisine , now an¬ 
nounced that the soup was ready, and we were soon at work 
swallowing large spoonfuls of this favorite Russian dish, stchi. 
It was not an appetizing mixture to look at; masses of thick 
grease floated on the top of the finely grated cabbage, while a 
few sticks mixed with some pieces of meat which had been cut 
up in the soup showed that one of the fagots had fallen into 
the caldron. 

The camel-driver again distinguished himself as a trencher¬ 
man, on this occasion eating the whole of a four-pound loaf. 
Occasionally he would bury his head in the soup vessel and 
suck up the half-tepid liquor, much to the indignation of Nazar 
and the guide, the former remarking that this way of eating 
was not fair, at the same time offering the Turkoman a spoon. 
This the latter gratefully declined, and made my followers still 
more angry by saying that the soup tasted better if eaten in his 
manner. 

The time sped by rapidly, when, on looking upward, I found 
that the sun would soon be-at his highest altitude, and that we 
had already been nearly three hours stationary. The horses 
had finished feeding; so, saddling the animals, we proceeded 
on our journey with the Khivan caravan, which had by this 
time caught us up. 


184 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


The merchant now announced his intention of continuing 
the march in our company, at all events for that day, in spite 
of the extra weight carried by his camels. He was very in¬ 
quisitive about England and her manufactures, the more par¬ 
ticularly as one of his relatives had visited Hindoostan, and he 
himself had been several times to Bokhara and Balkh. 

“ When the railway is opened from Sizeran to Orenburg, I 
shall go to St. Petersburg,” he observed. “ They tell me that 
it is like an enchantment, that it is like a fairy city.” 

“ The women expose their faces,” I remarked. 

“Yes; that I have observed during my visits to Orenburg, 
and was at first surprised to see that their husbands did not 
mind it any more than do these barbarous Kirghiz.” As he 
said these words he looked contemptuously at the guide, who 
was riding a little in advance of the party, engaged in singing 
a song descriptive of his love for mutton. 

The Kirghiz poetry is filled with odes in the honor of sheep, 
the natives placing this animal on the highest pinnacle of their 
estimation — after their wives, and, indeed, sometimes before 
them. Sheep make up the entire riches of these nomad tribes. 
A Kirghiz lives upon their milk during the summer and au¬ 
tumn. At that time of the year he would consider it a great 
piece of extravagance to eat any meat, and this is only done 
should any animal become ill and die, in which case there is a 
feast in the kibitka. However, if a guest arrives, nothing is 
too good for him, and hospitality is shown by slaying one of 
the flock. 

It is then a red-letter day, and it is remembered long after¬ 
ward bv the owner of the animal. 

J 

In winter, when there is nothing else upon which the Kir¬ 
ghiz can subsist, they are obliged occasionally to kill some of 
their sheep, varying this diet by eating either a horse or a little 
camel’s flesh—that is to say, should any of these last-named 
quadrupeds meet with an accident or die a natural death in the 
neighborhood. A native’s clothes are made entirely of sheep’s 
wool manufactured into coarse homespun. When he wishes to 
buy a horse or a camel, he gives so many sheep in exchange; 
and when he wants a wife, he pays for her in the same com- 


MATRIMONIAL ARRANGEMENTS. 


185 


modity, a good fat sheep being worth in those parts about 
four rubles, or eleven shillings of our money. 

The Kirghiz have a custom of betrothing their sons to girls 
often several years before the latter have arrived at puberty. 
This is done by the parents of the interested parties, the father 
of the lad giving so many of the flock to the girl’s parents. 
When the lady is old enough the bridegroom fetches her home 
to his habitation. Her father, if he be generous, returns to the 
young couple the same number of animals that he has pre¬ 
viously received, with a few in addition as interest. But this 
is only among the more wealthy families; the heads of poorer 
establishments do not feel inclined to give back any of their 
sheep, and prefer being thought stingy to having nothing to 
subsist upon in the winter. 

Sometimes the matrimonial arrangement is made by the 
would-be husband, who, going straight to the girl’s parents, 
strikes a bargain with them for their daughter. When all 
things are arranged he returns alone to his own kibitka, which 
is, perhaps, two or three hundred versts from the young lady’s 
home. After waiting here a few days, he goes back for his 
bride. 

It is considered a sign of manhood should the bridegroom, 
regardless of robbers and marauding parties, bring no compan¬ 
ions when journeying toward the kibitka of his betrothed. 
The young lady herself sits inside the tent, and sings a ditty 
which has reference to her lover’s bravery, to her own good 
looks, and to his good fortune, to sheep, and to the festivities 
about to ensue. 

The women of the tribe squat on the ground and form a cir¬ 
cle round the tent. If the bridegroom attempts to enter the 
bride’s kibitka, the jealous females rush forward and beat him 
with sticks, the most unfavored and elderly of the unmarried 
women taking great delight in this performance. However, 
love generally prevails; the young man’s back smarts, but he 
forces a passage into the kibitka. His beloved one now throws 
herself into his arms, and he there seeks a solace for all his 
troubles. The young lady then presents him with some feath¬ 
ers, red silk, and cloves, this being the accustomed offering 


186 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


made by a Kirghiz maiden to her bridegroom to testify to him 
her purity and affection. The happy couple are now left 
alone, the women outside singing some native ditty, in which 
the joys of marriage are rather forcibly described. 

Feasting then begins; friends and relations come from all 
parts of the steppe, having brought horses and sheep as a con¬ 
tribution to the festival; indeed, without this it would be im¬ 
possible for the host to give the entertainment, for he would 
be literally eaten out of house and home. 

Sometimes a hundred sheep and forty or fifty horses are 
slain, the iron caldron being kept all day long at boiling-point. 
The Kirghiz stuff themselves to repletion, and afterward carry 
away in their trousers, which they tie up at the knee, the meat 
they are unable to swallow at the time. It is a peculiar pock¬ 
et, the roast mutton in this manner coming closely in contact 
with the Kirghiz legs; but such little matters do not affect 
these half-wild wanderers. When the feast is over the games 
begin, and the animals which have not been eaten are set apart 
as prizes, the young men wrestling with each other. No trip¬ 
ping is allowed, no dexterity comes into play, and the contest 
is decided by sheer strength. 

After this there are horse-races, the length of the course be¬ 
ing from twenty to thirty miles, this distance being accom¬ 
plished at the rate of from eighteen to twenty miles an hour, 
the successful rider sometimes receiving eight or nine horses 
as a prize. 

Then the girls mount the swiftest horses which they can 
borrow from their friends or relations, and one of the Ama¬ 
zons, challenging the men to race against her, gallops across 
the steppe. She is pursued by a horseman, who strives to 
place his hand round her waist, the girl all this time shower¬ 
ing blows with her whip on the head of her admirer, and do¬ 
ing her best to keep him at bay. If he does not succeed in 
his attempt, the girl will often turn round upon him, and so 
belabor the unfortunate wight with her whip that he frequent¬ 
ly falls off his horse, and is then an object of scorn and deris¬ 
ion to all the assembled guests; but if, on the contrary, he suc¬ 
ceeds in placing his hand on the girl’s breast, she surrenders at 


WINNING A WIFE. 


187 


once, they ride away together amidst the cheers and encoura¬ 
ging shouts of the company, and it is not considered strict eti¬ 
quette to follow, no chaperons in Tartary being considered nec¬ 
essary. 

The Turkomans sometimes decide the knotty point of who 
is to marry the prettiest girl in their tribe in the same primi¬ 
tive manner. On these occasions the whole tribe turns out, 
and the young lady, being allowed her choice of horses, gallops 
away from her suitors. They follow her, and she avoids those 
whom she dislikes, and seeks to throw herself in the way of 
the object of her affections. The moment that she is caught 
she becomes the wife of her captor. Further ceremonies are 
dispensed with, and he then takes her to his tent. 

“ What do you pay in your country for a wife ?” asked the 
guide, when I had finished questioning him on these sub¬ 
jects. 

“ We pay nothing. We ask the girl, and if she says yes, 
and her parents do not refuse, we marry her.” 

“ But if the girl does not like you—if she hits you on the 
head with her whip, or gallops away when you ride up to her 
side—what do you do in that case?” 

“ Why, we do not marry her.” 

“ But if you want to marry her very much ; if you love her 
more than your best horse and all your sheep and camels put 
together ?” 

“ We can not marry her without her consent.” 

“ And are the girls moon-faced ?” 

“ Some of them.” 

The guide appeared to be lost in a fit of meditation very un¬ 
usual amidst the Arabs of the steppes. Presently, removing 
his slieep-skin hat, and rubbing his closely shaven head, he said, 
“ Will you take me with you to your country ? It would be 
so nice ; I should get a moon-faced wife, and all for nothing. 
Why, she would not cost so much as a sheep.” 

“ But supposing she would not have you ?” 

“Not have me!” and the guide here looked at me in aston¬ 
ishment, which he emphasized in a manner peculiar to his 
countrymen, by using his fingers instead of a pocket-handker- 


188 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


chief. “Not have me! Well, I should give her a white wrap¬ 
per, or a ring for her ears or her nose.” 

“And if she still refused you?” 

“ Why, I would give her a gold ornament for her head; and 
what girl is there who could resist such a present ?” 


A RESORT OF WANDERING TRIBES. 


189 


CHAPTER XXV. 

Disobedience of Orders.—A Lesson.—A Song about a Sheep.—The Im¬ 
portance of a Traveler gauged in Russia by his Furs, in Asia by his 
Retinue.—Worn out.—The Pretty Ice-bearer.—Moon-faced Girls.—Se¬ 
ville.—Gitanas.—Buying a Sheep.—“ Fat!”—A Beautiful Butcher.— 
Disillusion.—A Kirghiz Pipe.—Kirghiz Tobacco.—Heart Disease.—Des¬ 
ultory Warfare.—Progress of Russia.—The Sword and the Gibbet.— 
Christianity and the Bible.—A Filthy Habit.—Snow for Horses instead 
of Water.—In the Misty Gloom of Awakening Day.—Stretching a Point. 
—We will go to Kalenderhana.—Ootch Ootkool.—Tan Sooloo.—Tooz.— 
A Small Salt Lake. 

The afternoon was now drawing to a close, and by this time 
the guide and myself had ridden on considerably ahead of the 
Khivan and his party ; the merchant, who spoke a little Rus¬ 
sian, having sometimes acted as interpreter between myself 
and my follower. I had previously desired Nazar to continue 
marching with the Turkoman and our three camels until they 
came up to us. 

From time to time the guide would leave the track, and, 
galloping his horse on to any little rising ground in the neigh¬ 
borhood, search for a convenient spot upon which to encamp. 
At last he selected a small ravine, sheltered from the wind by 
two low hills. There was a great deal of brush-wood in the 
neighborhood, and I then learned that this spot, even in the 
winter-time, was a resort of the wandering tribes, as a certain 
amount of grass could always be found beneath the snow ; in 
fact, sufficient to keep life in their animals till the early spring. 
But now, for as far as we could see, jthere was no living soul 
besides ourselves in sight. 

The cold had become more piercing than ever. The felt 
which covered the stirrup-irons had worn off in places, and I 
had continually to remove my feet from the stirrup-irons in 
order to prevent their adhering to the steel. We looked every- 


190 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


where, but in vain, for the caravan; so, dismounting and hob¬ 
bling our horses, we began cutting down what brush-wood we 
could find for a fire, a small axe purchased at Kasala, and which 
was hung from my saddle, now proving very useful. Fortu¬ 
nately, the wood was not at all damp ; the guide had found 
some grass as dry as tinder ; and in about five minutes we had 
made a fire. 

An hour passed away, and then another, but no signs of the 
caravan. 

My follower now began to be alarmed, and proposed that we 
should retrace our steps. 

After about half an hour’s ride we came upon the Khivan’s 
encampment. It appeared that he had stopped at this place, 
and as our Turkoman had declared that he did not know the 
way, Nazar had taken upon himself to halt and to unload the 
camels. 

My feet by this time were suffering a good deal from the 
cold; but it would never have done to have given in to my lazy 
followers, or these delays might be repeated. I instantly or¬ 
dered them to saddle and load the camels. A few grumbles 
could be heard, but the men obeyed, and I then returned with 
them to the spot my guide had originally chosen. 

The lesson produced its effect, and the trouble given in re¬ 
loading the caravan proved most efficacious, as on no subse¬ 
quent occasion did the Turkoman attempt to halt until such 
time as he had come up with the guide and myself. 

I was now fifty versts from Kasala; and as the camels had 
marched for sixteen hours with but a short halt the previous 
evening, I determined to remain till dawn, and then start. This 
time I had little difficulty in awaking my party; they were 
becoming disciplined, and the moment I shook the guide he 
arose and began to load the camels. 

I had promised to buy a sheep, if we met any Kirghiz on 
the road who would sell us one. This had greatly raised the 
spirits of my followers, the guide having improvised a sonu; 
about the liberality of the Englishman about to give them a 
whole sheep, of which he was to have the liver and the most 
delicate morsels as his own portion. 


A STEEP RAVINE. 


191 


Quantities of shrubs on both sides of the path, and extend¬ 
ing right and left as far as the eye could reach, varied the mo¬ 
notony of the scene; bright-colored grass and low brush-wood 
in great abundance were interspersed with thick masses of 
stunted bramble-trees. It was evident that we were approach¬ 
ing a locality frequented by beings like ourselves, for human 
footsteps could be plainly traced in the track leading to some 
black dots yet only dimly seen in the gradually breaking morn. 
Larger and larger they became, until at last a thick cloud of 
dark-blue smoke issuing from the roofs of these dark objects 
showed us that we were approaching the dwelling-place of 
some Kirghiz. 

On descending a steep ravine, we came upon what appeared 
to have been a sheep-pen, for the foot-prints of these animals 
could be here seen in great abundance, and an inclosure of 
piled-up logs showed where the sheep had but recently been 
confined. The guide now got off his horse, and looked at me 
complacently. “ Bah, bah !” he said, and, opening his mouth 
from ear to ear, showed a row of white teeth which would have 
been the envy of many a London dame. 

However, he did not wish to go forward at once to the ki- 
bitkas. We should not present the same majestic appearance 
alone and unaccompanied, as we should make a little later, and 
at the head of our caravan. In Russia the importance of a 
traveler is gauged by the value of his furs, but in Asia by the 
number of his retinue. The guide was aware of this, and in 
spite of his longing for mutton, he was enabled to restrain 
himself until such time as we could appear with proper dig¬ 
nity. 

I myself was not sorry of the opportunity afforded me to 
obtain a little sleep. Continued traveling had thoroughly 
tired me out, and, flinging myself down by the side of a huge 
bonfire of brambles, I became instantly lost to consciousness. 
When I awoke, the sun was descending toward the west, and 
Nazar, coming up, told me that the caravan had been waiting 
there two hours, but, seeing that I was so fast asleep, he had 
not wished to awake me. 

Another half-hour, and we rode up to the principal kibitka. 


192 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


It evidently belonged to a wealthy Kirghiz. The dwelling was 
three times the size of an ordinary kibitka, and the walls were 
ornamented with straw plaiting of different colors, while an 
abundance of hay in an inclosure adjoining the dwelling show¬ 
ed that the proprietor was a prudent man, and had laid in a 
supply of fodder for his horses. 

A girl who was carrying a large sheet of ice to the tent 
came up to the guide, who asked her if there were any sheep 
for sale. This inquiry instantly produced a sensation in the 
kibitka, and the whole family came out to have a look at the 
Croesus who actually wanted to buy a whole sheep. 

The head of the kibitka was a man considerably above the 
middle age. He must in his earlier days have been a splen¬ 
did type of mankind, for even now his muscular neck, square 
shoulders, and enormous girth of chest, showed that he would 
be a dangerous opponent in a hand-to-hand struggle. He was 
followed by a woman suckling a child, and in rear of her, and 
taking a shy, inquisitive glance at the new arrival from behind 
the door of the kibitka, was the girl the guide had accosted on 
arrival. She was an exception to the generality of Kirghiz 
women, who rarely exhibit any marked signs of beauty, and 
their high cheek-bones, bullet heads, and low foreheads are not 
often appreciated by the foreigner. 

A moon-faced girl in a London ball-room would be added to 
the list of wall-flowers, though in a Tartar’s estimation that 
class of beauty is the highest to which the fair sex can aspire. 
The ice-bearer, however, would have held her own, if pitted for 
good looks, against any European belle; and her complexion, 
two or three shades darker than that of her companions, made 
my thoughts wander several thousand miles in another direc¬ 
tion, and I bethought me of far-off Seville, for the girl might 
have been a gitana, from Triana by the side of the Guadal¬ 
quivir. 

She was evidently from a southern clime, her small mouth 
and well-shaped nose—a relief from the pug probosces which, 
for the most part, distinguish the Tartars—denoting a Persian 
origin, very likely the daughter of a captive who, in years gone 
by, had been carried off in a raid from the country on the 


THE BEAUTIFUL ICE-BEARER. 


193 


other side of the Attrek, and found favor in the e) T es of her 
master. 

The old man volunteered to lead us to the sheep-fold, so, 
dismounting from our horses, we accompanied him in that di¬ 
rection. The pretty girl, who had recovered from her shyness, 
hurried forward to catch one of the flock for our inspection. 
She ran like a hare over the rough stumps and brush-wood 
which studded the snow-covered ground, a large number of 
black-faced sheep scampering before her. At last she came up 
with one which, fatter than its companions, could not keep up 
with the flock. Suddenly stooping, she seized her victim by 
one foot, and with a rapid movement turned him over on his 
back. A clear, ringing laugh resounded from her lips. She 
turned round to us and pointed triumphantly at the sheep; 
then, drawing her hand across her neck, she went through, in 
pantomime, the operation of cutting his throat. 

My guide was now in his element; he rushed forward, and, 
bending down, punched the unfortunate animal in the ribs; 
then looking up at me, he made use of the one word, “ Fat!” 

A bargain was soon struck, the price being four rubles; and 
we returned to the kibitka to pay a visit to the proprietor, the 
girl going on in front with her arm round the neck of my re¬ 
cently acquired purchase, the slight shadow of sentiment cre¬ 
ated in my mind at the first sight of her beautiful face be¬ 
coming rapidly effaced as I saw how eager she was to play the 
part of a butcher. 

On entering the tent I found that the ground was covered 
with thick carpets, a layer of hay having been put down be¬ 
tween them and the ground. The carpets were of many col¬ 
ors, and on inquiry I learned that they had been purchased 
from a merchant who had passed that way on his road to 
Kasala. A cushion was brought for me, and I was given the 
post of honor by the fire, which consisted of a few red embers 
piled up in a shallow basin of dried clay; the proprietor squat¬ 
ting down opposite me, while the rest of his family, seated on 
their hams, their knees and chins touching, gazed curiously 
upon the newly arrived stranger. 

The children were so wrapped up in skins and furs that each 

9 


194 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


child, looked three times his natural size. They were amusing 
themselves by teasing the unfortunate sheep, which was tied 
up to the door of the kibitka. A single-barreled gun—the 
barrel tied to the stock by a leathern thong — and two old 
swords were hung up in the corners of the tent; a few iron 
cooking-pans, a bright-colored earthenware tea-pot, and some 
wooden spoons, stood on a gaudily painted wooden box, which 
contained the valuables of the proprietor. 

A large brass pipe was near the fire. It resembled a Turk¬ 
ish so-called hubble-bubble, as the smoke had first of all to 
pass through some water which was contained in a receptacle 
below the bowl, while, instead of there being a long india-rub¬ 
ber tube through which to inhale the fumes, this was substi- 
tutcd by a woodSn stem about two feet long, to the end of 
which was a horn mouth-piece. The tobacco smoked was very 
different from any I have seen in other countries, and was so 
strong that two or three whiffs were sufficient to prostrate for 
the moment any man not accustomed to its use. 

The host, taking up his pipe, slowly inhaled the fumes, until 
after about half a minute he fell back upon his carpet, ap¬ 
parently stupefied by the effects of the tobacco. Indeed, I sub¬ 
sequently heard that all natives who much indulge in this 
kind of smoking are subject to heart disease, and a number of 
sickly Khivans were pointed out to me as victims to this habit. 

We were informed that the snow on the desert in front of 
us was very deep in several places, and that we should have a 
great deal of difficulty in riding through some of the drifts. 
To the guide’s inquiry whether there had been any bands of 
Turkomans in those parts, the answer was “No;” that the 
country was, comparatively speaking, quiet; but that as the 
Oxus was frozen, no one could tell whether some Turkoman 
party or other might not have crossed the river during the last 
few days. 

There was a sort of desultory warfare,* which is carried on 
at intervals between the Russians and some of the Turkoman 
tribes, the former shooting down the Bedouins of the steppes 


* See Appendix A. 




A FILTHY HABIT. 


195 


without any mercy whenever they catch them. Where might 
is right, a great deal can be done by this terrorizing system. 
However, it is as well to call things by their proper names; 
and it would be more correct to say that the progress of Rus¬ 
sia in the East is based upon the sw r ord and the gibbet, rather 
than upon Christianity and the Bible. 

The guide now became impatient, and proposed that we 
should return to our tent, which had been pitched at about ten 
minutes 1 walk from the aul. He was a little alarmed lest I 
should invite his compatriots to the feast, in which case, as it is 
always the custom to help the guests first—and their appetites 
he gauged by his own—he thought that there would be little 
or nothing; left for himself and Nazar. In the mean time the 
young lady—the ci-devant object of my admiration—had cut 
the sheep’s throat, and a little while later the carcass was 
brought to our encampment, the fair butcher receiving the 
skin and head as a recompense for her trouble. 

My followers were in their element. Huge lumps of half- 
cooked meat and fat rapidly disappeared down their throats, 
the feasting going on steadily during several hours. At last 
nature could do no more; all the belts had been let out to the 
last hole; and Nazar, putting his head close to mine, eructed 
loudly in my face, the Turkoman and the guide performing 
the same operation, but fortunately at a little distance. This 
was done in honor of the entertainer, and in order to show 
their appreciation of the repast. Indeed, to such an extent is 
this filthy habit fashionable in Central Asia, that a Kirghiz who 
has eaten nothing in his friend’s house will do his best to cruet 
outside, so that all the by-standers may say, “ See how he has 
been entertained! How he must have feasted! His host has 
honored him. He must be a distinguished man!” 

We continued our march at day-break, and rode toward a 
spot known by the Kirghiz as Berd Kazgan, where there was 
said to be a well of brackish water. Our horses and camels 
had not drunk since leaving Kasala. They had only eaten 
snow; and although the Kirghiz never give their herds of 
horses any water during the winter months, but leave them to 
shift for themselves, the animals suffer very much in conse- 


196 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


quence, and when they are doing hard work the owner has to 
give them water at least every fourth day. 

Our course now lay nearly due south. Occasionally we 
came to places where the wind acting upon the snow had 
blown it into all sorts of curious forms and shapes. Some¬ 
times, in the misty gloom of awakening day, we seemed to he 
riding through endless cemeteries, the frozen patches resem¬ 
bling slabs or marble grave-stones, this apparently unbounded 
burial-ground extending across the desert as far as the eye 
could reach. 

As I was riding across the plain my horse stumbled slightly, 
when the guide remarked, “ How thin the poor beast is! If 
you could only see my brother-in-law’s horses!” 

“ Well,” I replied, “ it is rather out of the way to ride to 
Kalenderhana; but, to oblige you, I would not object to 
stretch a point, and go there instead of to Petro-Alcxan- 
drovsk.” 

“What would the commandant say?” observed the guide. 
“ lie might punish me; perhaps I should be beaten.” 

“That is your business, not mine,” I remarked; “but the 
horses are beautiful at the fort. We will go there.” 

“No,” said the guide, “we will go to Kalenderhana, and 
then from my aul to the fort. It will be a little way round: 
however, that does not signify. We will not say a word to the 
commandant, and you shall buy such a horse ! You will look 
with scorn at every other horse you may see, and people will 
say, ‘ What a fortunate man !’ ” 

We had now thoroughly outstripped the Kliivan, being at 
least twelve hours ahead of his caravan. I was not sorry for 
this, as otherwise the sudden change in my route might have 
surprised him. We had left Ootch Ootkool, a spot marked on 
Wyld’s map of Khiva, considerably to our rear, while the coun¬ 
try was a succession of hill and dale, but much more undula¬ 
ting toward my bridle-hand than in the direction of the setting 
sun. 

Our course, as we neared a spot known by the Kirghiz as 
Tan Sooloo, was due south. From this place to Tooz, our next 
lialting-place, the distance was sixty versts. On either side of 


A SALT LAKE. 


197 


the track there were deep hollows and ravines innumerable, 
while saksaool and brush-wood became each moment more 
scarce. Apparently all this country had been at some remote 
period buried beneath the sea. Frequently we came across 
shells and other marine Crustacea scattered in profusion along 
our path, while at Tooz we passed a small salt lake which lay 
about a hundred yards to the east of the track, and was frozen 
as hard as adamant. 

Tooz signifies “ salt ” in the Tartar language, and the sand 
all about the lake is saturated with salt. Indeed, the traveler 
does not require any stronger testimony to this fact than the 
peculiar taste of his tea, for, however carefully the snow is 
chosen, it is sure to become mixed with a little sand; and the 
more you drink, the thirstier you become. According to the 
guide, there were two'much larger sheets of salt-water to the 
west, dividing the ground between ourselves and the Sea of 
Aral. 


I 


198 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


CHAPTER XXVI. 

The Turkoman on his Donkey.—Jana Darya.—A once Fertile Country. 
—A Barren Waste.—The Grandfather of the Khan.—English Horses 
and Kirghiz Horses.—Russian Cavalry.—A Sea of Molten Gold.—Silver 
Isles.—Kamstakak.—A Fresh-water Pond.—A Return to Vegetation.— 
Soigak.—Pheasants.—The Camel-driver is taken Ill.—The Moullahs.— 
Conjuring the Evil One.—A Dog of an Unbeliever.—The Guide’s Fight 
with the Khivan.—A Revolver is sometimes a Peace-maker.—Khivan 
Method of preserving Grass throughout the Winter.—Deep Chasms.— 
Tombs.—The Vision of the Kirghiz.—The Ivazan-Tor Mountains.—Au¬ 
riferous Nature of the Soil. 

It was a quaint spectacle to watch my little caravan as we 
rode away from our different encampments. First came the 
guide, clad in a long dressing-gown of crimson cloth, which he 
had exchanged for the more homely garment in which he 
commenced the journey. His robe, which was lined with 
sheep-skin, was tightly girt round his loins with a broad blue 
sash; a tall, conical-shaped black hat surmounted his bronzed 
countenance. His sword dangled at his side, and he used the 
weapon sheathed as a whip to urge on his steed, now a little 
done up by this constant marching through the snow. 

Then appeared a still more ludicrous figure—the Turkoman 
camel-driver. He rode a donkey he had purchased just before 
leaving Kasala. The long legs of the rider nearly touched 
the ground, while his figure was wrapped up in a tattered robe 
that looked as if it might have formed part of an old Turkish 
carpet. His head was adorned with a white sheep-skin hat of 
the coal-scuttle pattern. His feet, which had first been care¬ 
fully wrapped up in many thicknesses of cloth, were inserted in 
a pair of enormous high boots. Around his arm was hitched 
the end of a rope; this was attached to a huge camel, which 
strode behind the donkey. 

On the top of the camel lay my Tartar servant, generally 


JANA DARYA. 


199 


fast asleep, with arms and legs outstretched, while a cord was 
bound round his waist, and attached to some corn-bags to keep 
him from rolling over. The other two camels stalked along 
in the rear, the whole cavalcade throwing weird and grotesque 
shadows on the pale carpet of snow, which exaggerated a 
thousand times in its reflections the motley appearance of my 
party. 

We were approaching Jana Darya, the dried-up bed of a riv¬ 
er which is lost in the sand. All the desert in this neighbor- 
hood was once thickly inhabited. Canals cut on all sides irri¬ 
gated the now parched-up soil; and this not so long ago, for 
there are men alive who say that they have heard tell of the 
former richness of this district. 

The grandfather of the present Khan of Khiva is said to 
have been the cause of this once fertile plain having been 
changed into an absolute waste; for, fearing that the Russians 
would make use of the Jana Darya and its communication 
with the Syr Darya as a means to advance upon Khiva, he had 
a dam built near the junction of the rivers. The Syr Darya 
then no longer supplied the Jana’s channel; gradually the wa¬ 
ter dried up, and the inhabitants of this former rich district 
emigrated by thousands to the other side of the Oxus. 

Later on, and after the Russians had built Fort Perovsky, 
the dam was destroyed, and the Jana Darya once more fertil¬ 
ized the district. However, the Jaxartes became then so shal¬ 
low that the steamers in the Sea of Aral could with diffi¬ 
culty ascend to Tashkent; so the old channel was once more 
blocked, and thousands of acres of once fertile territory are 
now a barren waste. 

From Jana Darya we rode sixty versts, or forty miles, with¬ 
out a halt. I must say that it much surprised me to see how 
w r ell the Kirghiz horses stood the long journeys. We had now 
gone three hundred miles, and my little animal, in spite of his 
skeleton-like appearance, carried me quite as well as the day he 
left Kasala; this, probably, being owing to the change in his 
food from grass to barley. We are apt to think very highly 
of English horses, and deservedly, so far as pace is concerned; 
but if it came to a question of endurance, I much doubt wheth- 


200 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


er our large and well-fed horses could compete with the little 
half-starved Kirghiz animals. This is a subject which must be 
borne in mind in the event of future complications in the 
East; and should the military law of universal conscription be 
ever applied to the nomad Kirghiz, Russia, besides having a 
greater force of cavalry than any other nation, will be supplied 
with the hardiest horses in the world. 

Now the snow became scarcer along the track, and could 
only be found in thin patches, the sand being almost every¬ 
where visible, and looking, beneath the influence of a glaring 
sun, like a sea of molten gold studded with silver isles. Pres¬ 
ently the latter, in their turn, could no longer be seen: the 
snow had entirely disappeared from our gaze, and an unbound¬ 
ed ocean of sand lay behind us, before us, and all around. 

It must not be thought that the cold had equally taken 
flight; and the two days’ march when the ground was exposed 
to view were the most trying of the journey. The mercury 
had descended to 30° below zero, and the wind was more bit¬ 
ing than ever—in fact, we could not take off our gloves for 
an instant without the hands and fingers being instantly be¬ 
numbed, and powerless to do their work. My followers had a 
great advantage in this respect, as their Eastern attire required 
no buttoning; while, if ever I unbuttoned my coat, my fin¬ 
gers lost their feeling, and the little Tartar’s services had to be 
called into requisition to button it for me again. 

Just before reaching a spot known to the Kirghiz as Kam- 
stakat, we rode through a raised plain surrounded by sand-hills. 
It formed a vast natural amphitheatre of a circular shape, with 
a diameter of quite five miles. In the centre of this plateau 
we came upon a fresh-water pond, the result of the rain, which 
falls very heavily during the rainy season in the months of Feb¬ 
ruary, March, and April. A good supply of ice was chopped 
out with the axe, and some large pieces of the frozen water 
strapped to the saddle of one of the camels, for us to melt, if 
required, during our onward journey. 

The country now again showed signs of a return to vegeta¬ 
tion. It was covered with thick brush-wood, the shrubs bein«* 

7 O 

much larger; and the general appearance of the landscape be- 


THE CAMEL-DRIVER’S ILLNESS. 201 

tokened that we were approaching a more fertile soil. For 
the first time since I left Kasala, traces of game were to he 
found. Here and there a hare would dart across our path, 
while herds of the saigak, as difficult to approach as the 
chamois, could he seen hounding away from us at the first 
sound of our approach. Pheasants were said to he plentiful 
in the neighborhood, and occasionally we could see the birds 
running before us in the distance, seeking to hide themselves 
in the thick foliage. 

Up to this time every thing had gone smoothly with my 
party, and no one had shown any symptoms of illness; but 
this happy state of things was not destined to continue, for 
the camel-driver now began to show decided signs of being 
done up. He had caught a fever some years before at Bo¬ 
khara, and was subject to periodical attacks of this malady. 
He groaned a great deal, could not look at food, and on trying 
to mount his donkey fell backward in the attempt. There 
was nothing for it but to strap him on to a camel and continue 
on our way, the poor fellow writhing with pain at every move¬ 
ment of the animal. I offered him some quinine, but he had 
a horror of medicine, and said that he should not be well till 
he saw his moullah, or priest, when the latter could conjure the 
evil one out of him. 

The Turkomans and other nomad races in the steppes often 
attribute a disease or illness to the devil, and think, like some 
nations of old, that they can not be cured unless a holy man 
will exorcise the demon, and, with him, their malady. All 
that night the camel-driver groaned incessantly, and he showed 
such signs of prostration that I much feared we should never 
get him alive to the guide’s aul. 

About thirty miles from the fresh-water pond in the wilder¬ 
ness we came to a place known as Karakol. Here we saw, to 
the west of our route, what appeared to be a large lake. How¬ 
ever, the guide said that it was an overflow from the Anni 
Darya. Close by the water there were a few Kirghiz kibitkas, 
the ground being cultivated in this neighborhood, while corn 
and various grasses for cattle abounded throughout the district. 

We now encountered a small party of Khivans. My guide 


202 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


gave them the customary salutation, “ Salam aaleikomhow¬ 
ever, they made no response. Their leader had observed by 
my dress that I was a foreigner. He looked fixedly at us, and 
recognized the guide as the one who had aided the Russians 
during their advance against the khan’s country. The Khivan 
stopped his horse, and called out to him, “ There you are again, 
with dogs of unbelievers! I have little doubt but that you are 
an unbeliever yourself.” 

This was too much for the equanimity of my guide, who 
piqued himself upon his rigid observance of all Mohammedan 
rites. Did he not wash his feet with snow the prescribed 
number of times a day, in spite of the danger of having them 
frost-bitten, and had he not once suffered in consequence? 
Did he not rub his hands with snow before eating? and had 
he ever been known to put his left hand in the dish ? No; I 
might be called a dog of an unbeliever, and that was very like¬ 
ly the case. Had he not seen me eat some sausages of that 
kind which, when at Kasala, he had been informed were made 
of the flesh of the unclean animal ? and was not one pot of the 
preserved meat which I had purchased at Orenburg, and of 
which lie always refused to partake, also a composition of the 
same foul beast ? 

The insult was too great to be borne, and he made a tremen¬ 
dous effort to draw his cimeter. This was a hopeless task; so,' 
rushing forward with his whip in the air, he assailed his ene¬ 
my by smiting vigorous blows on a new Astrakhan cap which 
adorned the head of the Khivan. The latter retaliated by 
striking the guide on his crimson dressing-gown with a short 
camel stick. The damage done to their clothes was great, and 
the Khivan, suddenly seizing the skirt of my guide’s garment, 
tore it up the back, the sound of the tear making my follower 
more furious than ever, for he was very proud of the robe in 
question, and was looking forward to displaying it to his broth¬ 
er-in-law at Kalenderliana. 

The combatants became breathless with their exertions. The 
Khivan’s companions surrounded the guide, and began to play 
with their knife-handles in a menacing manner. They were 
six men to two, as the guide and myself had outstripped our 


KHIVAN METHOD OF PRESERVING GRASS. 


203 


caravan by several versts. I now drew my pistol from its bol¬ 
ster, and this action on my part immediately produced the de¬ 
sired effect. A revolver is a formidable weapon, and the band 
of Khivans bad sufficient discrimination to recognize its use. 
Their party fell back a little, and one of them, putting his knife 
down on the ground, said something to me, which I understood 
, meant, “ It is not your business to interfere; let them settle it 
between themselves.” To this I could not make any objection ; 
when the opponents, seeing that they were to be the only com¬ 
batants, left off wrestling together. 

My guide, who was very much out of breath, now blew his 
nose with his fingers as a sign of contempt for his adversary, 
and squatted on his haunches on the ground. His foe, not to 
be outdone, performed the same feat with his nasal organ, and 
sat down opposite him. They then began a verbal battle in 
which the reputations of their respective female relatives were 
much aspersed. This continued for about five minutes, when, 
becoming tired with waiting, I walked up to them and said, 
“Aman ” (peace); then, taking hold of their wrists, I forcibly 
made them shake hands. “ Salam aaleikom ” (peace be with 
you), at last said the guide. “Aaleikom asalam” (with you be 
peace), was the answer, and the combatants separated. 

We now encountered a party of men and women who were 
engaged in unearthing a quantity of grass from a deep cutting 
in the ground. This grass had been mowed in the previous au¬ 
tumn, and was thus preserved until such time as the owner re¬ 
quired it; the extreme cold, or perhaps the dryness of the air, 
keeping the grass as fresh as the day it was cut. Our road be¬ 
came less clearly defined, frequently making the most circuitous 
turns, and winding round in a northerly direction to turn once 
more due south. We passed by deep holes and chasms in the 
path, and which would have made it dangerous traveling after 
nio-ht-fall if it had not been for the brightness of the moon and 
stars, which lighted up the surrounding country and turned the 
night almost into day, the chasms being caused by the heavy 
rain-falls which occur during the wet season. 

The camel-driver at last showed symptoms of recovery ; the 
fever had left him, but he was wretchedly weak, and could not 


204 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


sit on liis donkey, Nazar riding that animal, having given up 
his own huge steed to the Turkoman. Presently we came 
across some Kirghiz tombs, which were constructed of clay 
dried in the sun. Some of them rose from thirty to forty feet 
above the ground. These marked the resting-places of the 
richer Kirghiz, who, like Abraham and the forefathers* Of old, 
wandered from place to place with their flocks and herds, sel¬ 
dom, however, omitting to select a plot of ground and build a 
tomb to contain their ashes. 

So, like the vanity of the human race, we too build tombs in 
order that some distinguished personages may be remembered, 
while posterity soon forgets the very name of the departed. 
How many Egyptians are there that know who built the Pyra¬ 
mids, and for whom they were constructed ? How many En¬ 
glishmen can tell us in whose honor some of the statues in the 
parks and squares of London were erected? The poorer Kir¬ 
ghiz, like the poor in other countries, have no such honors paid 
to their remains—no pillar or stone marks the spot where their 
bodies are turned to dust. “Where the tree falls, there let it 
lie.” This old saying well applies to them: a hole is dug, a 
few shovelfuls of sand are thrown over their remains, and, save 
perhaps by their horses and camels, the children of the desert 
are soon forgotten. 

The guide and I had by this time ridden a long way in front 
of our caravan, and we determined to await its arrival. We 
were on the borders of Khivan territory, and it was difficult to 
say how the inhabitants would receive us. 

We lay down by the side of the road, and in a few minutes 
were fast asleep. Indeed, after several days of almost incessant 
traveling, I found myself continually dozing off on horseback, 
and then clutching convulsively at the pummel of my saddle, 
as the animal swerved and threw me off my balance. When 
we awoke, the guide was anxious to know whether the camels 
had passed us during the night. Looking down on the ground, 
he carefully inspected the various tracks—one of our camels 
having a peculiar mark upon a hind foot, which enabled my 
man to distinguish her tread from that of a million quadru¬ 
peds. 


KAZAN-TOR. 


205 


The vision of the Kirghiz is very extraordinary, and very 
often my guide would discern objects with the naked eye 
which I could barely distinguish with my glasses. His knowl¬ 
edge of locality was also very remarkable, for sometimes when 
no track could be seen he would get off his horse and search 
for flowers or grass, and, if he could And any, would be able 
to judge by their appearance as to the district in which we 
were. 

The Book of Nature was as familiar to this semi-savage 
Kirghiz as the Koran to his moullali; and, presently pointing 
to a chain of mountains, which, rearing themselves up before 
us, extended east and west of our path, he observed that Ka- 
lenderhana was just behind them, and, making a sound suggest¬ 
ive of a kiss, informed me that he should not be sorry to see 
his wife. 

The scenery became more striking as we approached this 
mountain barrier. Picturesque crags and large masses of 
sparkling quartz dazzled the eye with their glinting. Broken 
patches of frozen snow at intervals carpeted the sandy soil, and 
formed a mirror which flashed beneath the midday sun. Many 
streaks down the rugged sides of the heights around us show¬ 
ed where the rain, pouring down on their crests in the early 
spring, diverged in foaming torrents. Here, dashing with ir¬ 
resistible force through the narrow pass, they would furrow a 
road before them; there, emerging from the gradually widen¬ 
ing defile, they would rush in a hundred different channels to 
swell the volume of the mighty Oxus. 

This mountainous ridge was called by the guide Kazan-Tor, 
and the pass which gives access to the fertile plains we were 
gradually approaching would prove a formidable obstacle to 
an invading column if the defenders were worth their salt. 
However, this chain of hills does not extend very far in an 
easterly direction. It comes to an abrupt termination about 
twenty-five miles from the track upon which I was traveling, 
and the flank can be easily turned. The defile is about a quar¬ 
ter of a mile broad and about seven miles long, the ground 
having a strongly marked auriferous nature; while, from the 
appearance of some of the rocks, I should say that a search for 


206 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


copper would not prove unremunerative to an engineer or his 
employers. 

We emerged upon a vast plain, which was intersected by a 
quantity of water-courses, or canals. These, springing from 
the Amu Darya, are employed by the inhabitants of the adja¬ 
cent villages for irrigating their fields during the summer. 

n O O £3 


FORTIFYING VILLAGES. 


207 


CHAPTER XXVII. 

Villages Fortified.—The Turkoman Raids exaggerated.—A Retrospect.— 
The Cossacks inv r ade Khiva.—Urgentch.—Peter the Great’s Idea about 
Khiva and India. — Prince Bekovitch. — Careful Preparations for the 
Expedition.—Points selected by the Shores of the Caspian.—Forts St. 
George, Alexander, and Krasnovodsk.—March across the Ust Urt.—De¬ 
struction of the Russians.—Expedition in 1859.—Chikishlar taken.— 
Military Posts established. — Chikishlar occupied in 1871. — Russian 
Statement about the Shah’s Recognition of the Tzar’s Claim to Ashou- 
rade.—Russians Established at Four Points of Turkoman Territory.— 
The Adaycfs.—Forced Contributions.—Taxes raised 150 per Cent.— 
Dissatisfaction. — Letter from the Khan. — Adayefs overcome. — The 
Khan’s Letters to the Emperor and to the Viceroy of the Caucasus.— 
The Russian Chancellor’s Perfect Understanding with Mr. Gladstone’s 
Government.—Count Schouvalolf’s Statement to Lord Granville.—Posi¬ 
tive Assurances to Parliament about Khiva.—The Force employed by 
Kauffmann in his Advance upon Khiva.—The Different Columns.—Dif¬ 
ference of Opinion between Kryjinovsky and Kauffmann.—Capture of 
Khiva.—Markosoff’s Failure.—War Indemnity.—Prince Gortschakoff’s 
Principles. — Treatment of the Turkomans. — General Kryjinovsky’s 
Statement about this Subject.—Court-martial on Two Turkomans.—Sen¬ 
tence of Death.—Russian Treaty with Khiva.—Khivan Territory given 
to Bokhara. 

Presently Ave came upon some kibitkas, which were evi¬ 
dently constructed as a permanency. Wide ditches were dug 
around them, and high wattled palisades, which in every in¬ 
stance encircled the dwellings, showed us that the inmates fear¬ 
ed attack. Indeed, from this spot until w T e crossed the Oxus, 
each village was fortified in some such a manner. Formerly 
the Kirghiz and Turkomans lived in a continual state of war, 
the Kirghiz making marauding expeditions into their neigh¬ 
bors’ territory, and carrying off horses and cattle; while their 
foe, in his turn, frequently crossed the Oxus in armed bands of 
from fifty to sixty horsemen, plundered the Kirghiz kibitkas, 
and carried away the spoil. At the present moment, from 
Russian sources we only hear of the marauding disposition of 


208 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


the Turkomans, and of the peaceful disposition of the Kirghiz; 
the Turkoman raids being purposely exaggerated, in the same 
way as previously the Khivans were maligned, in order to give 
an excuse for an advance upon Merve. The fact is, that if the 
Kirghiz carry off a Turkoman’s cattle no one hears of it; but 
if, on the contrary, the latter crosses the Oxus by way of retal¬ 
iation, this is made the subject for a tirade of abuse. Indeed, 
if we were to believe some Russian statements, the Khivans 
have always been the aggressors; and it is not generally known 
that the first attack on this Central Asian khanate was made 
by the subjects of the Tzar. 

This occurred at the end of the sixteenth century. A band 
of Cossacks happened to capture some Persian merchants, and 
through them learned of the existence of the rich territory 
of Khiva. Their cupidity was excited, and they resolved to 
make a raid in that direction. The Cossacks rode across the 
Kirghiz steppe in light-marching order, without having any 
baggage with them save that which could be carried on their 
saddles, when, after crossing the Oxus, they attacked the Kliivan 
town Urgentch. The khan and his forces were absent. Little 
resistance was made, and the town was destroyed, the Cossacks 
carrying off a thousand women, besides many carts laden with 
a rich booty. This extra baggage proved too much for them. 
They were overtaken and surrounded by the Khivans. The 
Russians had no water, but they fought for several days, quench¬ 
ing their thirst with the blood of the slain. Human nature, 
however, has its limits, and finally, when nearly all the Cossacks 
had been killed, the remainder surrendered, and were brought 
back prisoners to the khan. 

The Cossacks did not recover very rapidly from this serious 
blow; but after a time they once more marched upon Khiva in 
a band of five hundred strong, under the command of Atoman 
Necliae. The raid was made successfully; but when returning 
with their spoil, the Cossacks were overtaken by their pursuers 
and slain to a man. 

A third campaign ended still more unfavorably. The Cos¬ 
sacks lost their way, and, instead of reaching Khiva, found 
themselves by the shores of the Sea of Aral. The winter came 


PRINCE BEIvOVITCIl’s EXPEDITION. 


209 


on; frosts commenced, storms raged, and provisions were ex¬ 
hausted. At first the Cossacks killed some of their number, 
and lived upon the dead bodies; but at length they went to 
the Khivans, and voluntarily gave themselves up into slavery. 

For the fourth time the Russians made war upon Khiva in 
the reign of Peter the Great. This monarch was fully aware 
of the advantages to be gained by thoroughly subjecting this 
country. The report that there was auriferous sand in the 
river Amu, and that the Khivans purposely concealed this cir¬ 
cumstance for fear of bringing the Russians to their country, 
also attracted the Tzar’s attention, and he determined to open 
out mercantile relations with India via Khiva. 

Prince Bekovitch Tcherkassky was given the command of 
the expedition. Careful preparations had to be made previous 
to an advance. Points were selected by the shores of the Cas¬ 
pian, and forts built at Cape Trjuk-Karagan, and at the entrance 
to the Alexander and Balkan bays (forts St. George, Alexan¬ 
der, and Krasnovodsk'*), so as to maintain communications with 
Astrakhan. After securing his base in this manner on the 
eastern shore of the Caspian, Prince Bekovitch advanced across 
the Ust Urt into Khivan territory. 

His detachment consisted of two companies of mounted in¬ 
fantry, one dragoon regiment, 2500 Cossacks, with some Tar¬ 
tars and Kalmucks, in all 13,300 men, and six guns. Three 
months’ provisions were carried on camels and in carts drawn 
by horses. Bekovitch, after a two months’ march, halted on 
the banks of the Oxus. He had then traversed 900 miles of 
sandy steppe, in the hottest season of the year, and when the 
only water that could be obtained had to be procured from 
wells dug at each halting-place. The Russian prince was now 
attacked by the Khivans. He had drawn up his forces so as 
to protect his rear by the river, while his flanks were defend¬ 
ed by a barricade formed of baggage - wagons. After a fight 
which lasted three days, the Khivans were repulsed. A truce 

* Krasnovodsk, by the latest accounts, is to be the commencement of a 
line of postal stations between the Caspian and the Khivan town, Kuni 
Urgenj. The new road will greatly facilitate the transport of troops and 
supplies to Khiva. 



210 


A RIDE TO KIIIVA. 


was now declared, when tlio prince, thinking himself secure, 
was so idiotic as to divide his troops. The latter were at once 
attacked, and cut to pieces by their enemy. 

Perovsky’s expedition in 1839, which proved such a dis¬ 
astrous failure, I have already mentioned; and not much more 
was heard of Khiva until the year 1859, when a large Russian 
force, avowedly for the purpose of reconnoitring, was dis¬ 
patched to the east coast of the Caspian. 

The Turkomans, who did not like this amicable survey of 
their country, attacked the expedition near Balkan Bay, and 
seized the Russian camel train and baggage. The commander 
was thus prevented making a map of the Balkan hills. How¬ 
ever, he recommended the construction of a fort near Krasno- 
vodsk Bay, under the pretext of opening out friendly relations 
with the Turkomans. He then sailed to Asliourade and to 
Hassan Kuli Bay,* where he bombarded a Turkoman settle¬ 
ment, and took Chikislilar. 

The Russians commenced building a new fort at Krasno- 
vodsk Bay in the autumn of 1869. A station was formed in 
1870 at Tasli Arvat-Kala, 103 miles from Krasnovodsk, while 
two military intermediate posts were also established, one on 
the shore of Michael Bay, at a place called Mikhailovsk, and 
another on the Aktam, at Mulla Kari. A connecting link of 
communication was thus formed with the head - quarters at 
Krasnovodsk. 

Chikislilar \ was occupied in the month of November, 1871, 


* A correspondent of the Golos, writing in 1871 from Baku, after a visit 
to all the military positions on the cast coast of the Caspian, observes that 
Hassan Kuli, Gomush Tepe, and the localities thereabouts, are now Tur- 
komania de jure , and not de facto , as I was assured, in spite of my knowl¬ 
edge of political geography, that Persia begins now at the Attrek, and not 
at the Kara-Su. The Yamud Turkomans, the owners of the country be¬ 
tween the Attrek and the Kara-Su, are also not aware of this; but, in the 
loftier considerations of international rights, they are a people with whom 
it is not requisite to be on any ceremony. 

f Venukof, in his military review, writing about Chikishlar, remarks, 
“ That although the line of the east coast of the Caspian can be always 
easily defended, and therefore does not require one strong local central 
power, yet that, for the purpose of saving time in the execution of given 



FORCED CONTRIBUTIONS. 


211 


and a fort erected there by Colonel Markosoff. Askourade 
was Persian territory. However, this did not prevent its occu- 
pation by the Tzar’s forces, and the latter date Persia’s recog¬ 
nition of their right to this station from the day when the late 
Shah came on board a Russian vessel, he having been told that 
in the Bay of Astrabad the water was not so rough as otf other 
parts of the coast. 

The Russians were now established at four points in Turko¬ 
man territory : in the island of Ashourade; in the Mangyshlak 
Peninsula; by the Attrek; and in Krasnovodsk Bay. 

Every thing was ready, and nothing wanted save some pre¬ 
text for an advance upon Khiva. A casus belli soon presented 
itself ; but in order to explain how matters were finally brought 
to a head, it will be necessary to return for a moment to the 
year 1869. 

Among the nomad Kirghiz is a tribe known as the Adayefs, 
and when Fort Novo-Alexandrovsk was erected on the Man¬ 
gyshlak Isthmus, the Russian Government felt that it was strong 
enough to tax this people. The latter were in the habit of 
paying taxes to Khiva ; but this did not avail them with the 
Tzar’s officials, and a forced contribution of one ruble and fifty 
copecks was levied from each kibitka, or tent. This was in 
1850; but in 1869 a fresh system was introduced, and the 
taxes extorted from the Adayefs were raised 150 percent. 

This gave rise to great dissatisfaction, and in March, 1870, 
hostilities commenced between the Adayefs and the Russians, 
when the Khan of Khiva backed up the people, whom he look¬ 
ed upon as his subjects. He had been alarmed at the occupa¬ 
tion of Krasnovodsk, and now finding that General Kauffmann 
was bent on war, dispatched to him the following letter from 
Khiva: 

“ From the beginning of the world up to the present time 
there has never been an instance of one sovereign, in order to 
re-assure another, and for the well-being of the subjects of a 

orders, and for the purpose of uniformity of administrative and other ac¬ 
tion, in the eyes of the Turkomans it would be advisable to vest the con¬ 
trol of affairs on the east coast of the Caspian in one chief officer, whose 
centre of administration should be at Chikishlar.” 



A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


OIO 

foreign power, liaving erected a fort on tlie frontier, and hav¬ 
ing advanced liis troops. Our sovereign desires that the White 
Tzar, following the example of his forefathers, should not per¬ 
mit himself to be led away by the greatness of the empire with 
which God has intrusted him, and should not seek to gain pos¬ 
session of the lands of other powers, which is opposed to the 
custom of great sovereigns. 

“ If, on the contrary, trusting to the strength of his army, 
he desires to make war with us, let him remember that before 
the Creator of heaven and earth, before the great Judge of all 
earthly judges, all are equal—the strong and weak alike. To 
whom lie will, to him He gives the victory. No one can suc¬ 
ceed against the will and predestination of the All-Highest.” 

In the mean time the Adayefs, who, at the outset of their 
quarrel with the Russians, had destroyed a convoy and attacked 
Fort Alexandrovsk, had been completely overcome by a de¬ 
tachment of troops dispatched from the Caucasus, and some 
Cossacks, who had been taken prisoners by the Kirghiz and 
brought to Khiva, were detained there by the khan. 

In the beginning of 1872 the latter sent two embassies, one 
to the Viceroy of the Caucasus, and the other to the Emperor. 
In his letter to the viceroy the khan wrote as follows: 

“ Harmony has existed between the two governments. 
How, then, has it happened that during the last year your 
troops have landed at Cheleken, on the shores of the Bay of 
Khaurism, under the pretext of commercial objects, and that 
recently a small detachment of these troops was advancing to¬ 
ward the Sary Kamysli, which has of old belonged to us, but 
retired before reaching that point? Besides this, Russian 
troops have advanced from Tashkent and Ak Musjid (Perov- 
sky) as far as the well of Min Bulak, which is situated within 
our hereditary dominions. 

“We are ignorant whether the grand duke (the viceroy) 
knows of these proceedings or not. Meanwhile, on our side 
no such action has been taken as could violate friendly rela¬ 
tions with you. Some Kirghiz had seized four or five of your 
people, but we took charge of them, and kept them in safe¬ 
ty near ourselves. If you wish to maintain friendly relations 


COUNT SCIIOUVALOFF'S STATEMENT. 


213 


with us, then conclude such conditions as will leave each of us 
satisfied with our former.frontiers, and we will restore to you 
all your captives; but if these captives are made to serve sim¬ 
ply as a pretext for a war, of which the real object is the ex¬ 
tension of your territories, the will of the powerful and holy 
One must determine what shall happen—a will which can be 
avoided by none.” 

The embassy was not allowed to go to St. Petersburg, and 
the envoys were informed that no communications would be 
held Avitli them until the prisoners had been released. The 
khan iioav dispatched a mission to India; but the authorities 
there, probably putting credence in the statement so often 
made by Russian officials that there Avas no Avish to annex any 
of the khan’s territory, declined giving him assistance, and ad¬ 
vised that sovereign to restore the Russian prisoners, and to 
make peace Avitli the Russian Government. 

The Russian chancellor a short time afterward heard of this 
refusal to aid Khiva, and he remarked that this was in perfect 
harmony Avitli the understanding which existed betAveen the 
Imperial Government and that of Her Majesty, and that it had 
given him great pleasure. It must undoubtedly have been 
highly pleasing to him, for noAv lie kneAv that England had no 
intention to assist the khan, and that the latter must in conse- 
quence unfailingly succumb to the forces under Kauffmann’s 
orders. 

The authorities in Great Britain Avere quite tranquilized as 
to any intention on the part of the Government of St. Peters¬ 
burg to annex Khiva. All their doubts on this subject had 
been put at rest by a statement made to Lord Granville by 
Count Schou\ T aloff on the 8th of January, 1873, Avhcn the Avords 
used by the latter Avere to this effect: 

With regard to the expedition to Khiva, it was true that it 
Avas decided upon for next spring. To give an idea of its char¬ 
acter, it Avas sufficient to say that it would consist of four and 
a half battalions. Its object Avas to punish acts of brigandage, 
to recoA^er fifty Russian prisoners, and to teach the khan that 
such conduct on his part could not be continued with the im¬ 
punity in Avhicli the moderation of Russia had led him to be- 


214 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


lievc. Not only was it far from the intention of the Emperor 
to take possession of Khiva, but positive orders had been pre¬ 
pared to prevent it, and directions given that the conditions 
imposed should be such as could not in any way lead to a pro¬ 
longed occupancy of Khiva. 

Count Schouvaloff repeated the surprise which the Emperor, 
entertaining such sentiments, felt at the uneasiness which, it 
was said, existed in England on the subject; and he gave Lord 
Granville most decided assurance that he might give positive 
assurances to Parliament on this matter. 

The total force employed by General Kauffmann in his Khi- 
van expedition consisted of 53 companies of infantry, 25 sot- 
nias* of Cossacks, 54 guns, 6 mortars, 2 mitrailleuses, 5 rocket 
divisions, 19,200 camels, with a complement of about 14,000 
men. Russian battalions appear to be of a very expansive 
character if fifty-three companies of infantry can be comprised 
in four and a half battalions. The strength laid down for a 
battalion is four companies of the line and one company of ri¬ 
fles. The war establishment of a battalion comprises 900 rank 
and file, of whom sixty men are in reserve. Indeed, it would 
appear that the Russian commander-in-chief had borrowed a 
leaf out of the book of the sick patient, who, when desired by 
his doctor to limit himself to three glasses of wine a day, had 
some glasses constructed which would contain a bottle, and thus 
kept within the exact letter of his promise to the medical gen¬ 
tleman. 

The troops were divided into different columns, which in 
their turn were divided into detachments—the Tashkent col¬ 
umn, consisting of two detachments; of the Ojizzali, which 
marched from Tashkent, and the Kasalinsk from Fort Number 
One; and, finally, the Orenburg, Krasnovodsk, and Kenderli 
columns, which were to march respectively from Embinsk along 
the western shores of the Sea of Aral, from Krasnovodsk, Clii- 
kishlar, and from the Bay of Kenderli to the Aibougir lake, 
traversing the dreary wastes of the Ust TJrt.f 


* A sotnia of Cossacks is about 150 horsemen. 

f Ways of communication by sea to the cast coast of the Caspian: 



GENERAL KAUFFMANN’s WISHES DISREGARDED. 


215 


It seems strange that the water communication from Kasala 
by the Syr Darya, Sea of Aral, and Oxus was not made use of 
during the invasion. Some vessels belonging to the Aral fleet 
had sailed up the Oxus as far as Kungrad, and there was noth¬ 
ing to prevent the Russians attacking Khiva by water. This, 
indeed, was strongly urged upon Kauffmann. But the gener¬ 
al is reported to have said that it must be a land expedition, 
as otherwise the sailors would share the rewards, and that he 
wished all the decorations and honors to fall to the lot of the 
army. Kauffmann was of opinion that there ought to be only 
two detachments of troops sent against the khanate — one 
formed of troops from the army of the Caucasus, which should 
march from Krasnovodsk to Khiva,* and the other to march 
from Tashkent and under his personal command. 

Kauffmami’s wishes in this respect were disregarded. Kry- 
jinovsky, the Governor-general of Orenburg, urged upon the 
Government the dangers of such a plan, and he observed that, 
in the event of no troops being dispatched from Orenburg, the 
Khivans and Turkomans might advance on the Kirghiz steppes, 


From Astrakhan to Fort Alexandrovsk it is a twenty-four hours’ journey; 
however, the bar at the mouth of the Volga has a depth of only one and 
a half feet, so that vessels have to wait for a south wind to bring up a 
sufficient quantity of water into the estuaries to enable them to pass out. 
From Astrakhan to Balkan Bay, forty - eight to sixty hours. From As¬ 
trakhan to Ashourade, seventy-two to eighty-four hours. During strong 
westerly breezes these passages are longer, and entrance into the harbors 
or creeks is effected under difficulties. From Petrovsk and Baku to Fort 
Alexandrovsk and to Krasnovodsk, with a fair wind, the passage lasts only 
twenty-four hours. The distance in both cases is not over 127 miles. 
From Ashourade, in Astrabad Bay, to Gomush Tepe, one hour and a half; 
to Hassan Kuli, three hours and a half; to Cheleken Island, sixteen hours; 
to Balkan Bay (185 nautical miles), twenty hours. Two private steam- 
navigation companies are bound, under contract with the Russian Govern¬ 
ment, one of them to keep 150 steamers on the Caspian, and a correspond¬ 
ing number of barges; and both companies to transport stores and troops, 
etc., at certain rates from Astrakhan, Petrovsk, and Baku, to the east 
coast of the Caspian. There are other vessels belonging to these compa¬ 
nies and to merchants of Baku, besides about 500 Turkoman boats, which 
are suitable for navigation along the shallow eastern coast. 

* For routes to Khiva, see Appendix A. 



216 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


intercept communications on the postal road from Orsk to 
Tashkent, and possibly alarm the Ural and Orenburg districts. 

The troops from Orenburg had no difficulty in marching 
along the west coast of the Sea of Aral to Kungrad, where 
they were joined by the Kenderli detachment. Not being able 
to hear any thing of General Kauffmann’s column, they advanced 
upon Khiva, and captured the gate of that city. Intelligence 
was now received from Kauffmann that he had also arrived be¬ 
fore Khiva, and that the city was about to surrender. How¬ 
ever, the fire continuing, General Verevkin, who commanded the 
Orenburg column, took the city and citadel. This had scarce¬ 
ly been completed when the news was brought that Kauffmann 
had accepted the capitulation offered him by the chief inhabit¬ 
ants of the city, and that he was entering Khiva from another 
gate. The khan had fled. However, after two days he re¬ 
turned, and was reinstated in his post, but was subjected to a 
council, or divan, formed for the most part of Russian officers. 

The expedition from Krasnovodsk, under Colonel Markosoff, 
proved a complete failure, owing to the want of water; and, 
after burying his cannon in the sand, the colonel ordered his 
troops to retire. The columns from the Caspian and Tashkent 
were practically of no use. The expedition from Orenburg, 
which had been dispatched solely at the instigation of General 
Kryjinovsky, and with the reluctant consent of General Kauff¬ 
mann, had beaten the enemy and taken Khiva. 

A war indemnity of 2,200,000 rubles was imposed upon the 
Khivan sovereign. The news of his subjection spread like 
wild-fire all over Central Asia, and Russian influence became 
paramount in the khanates. 

The so-called insolence of the khan had been punished. 
His capital had been taken, he himself was in the hands of his 
foe. No sovereign’s humiliation could have been more com¬ 
plete, and Kauffmann had compelled him to drain the bitter 
cup to its dregs. 

The object of the expedition was obtained, and now all there 
remained to do was to fulfill the promise of the Emperor, given 
to the English Government by Count Schouvaloff, Russian em¬ 
bassador in London. However, this was not done; there had 


WAR INDEMNITY. 


217 


been a misunderstanding, it was said, and the construction of a 
Russian fort was at once commenced on Kliivan territory. 

Shortly before this, Prince Gortscliakoff, writing to Kauff- 
mann about the conditions of a treaty with Kokan, made use 
of the following language, which M. Terentyef is so kind as to 
publish to the world in his work on England and Russia in 
the East: 

“You express your conviction, produced by experience, that 
in an intercourse with Asiatics the grand secret of success con¬ 
sists in unchanging veracity and firmness, combined with a de¬ 
cided attitude of peace. I, too, am the more firmly convinced 
of the correctness of this view, since it has invariably served as 
my guide in my political action and intercourse both in the 
East and West.” 

It is a pity that M. Terentyef s work is not translated into 
the Tartar language, as it would be refreshing to the Khan of 
Khiva to read of such a noble expression of feeling on the part 
of one of his foes. Fortunately the work has been translated 
into English, and it will doubtless gratify the minds of those 
members in the House of Commons who were under the im¬ 
pression that no part of Kliivan territory was to be annexed to 
Russia. 

A proportion of the war indemnity of 2,200,000 rubles was 
imposed upon a tribe of Turkomans who had fought against 
the expedition from Orenburg. They were nominally Kliivan 
subjects, and for a month after the conquest of Khiva they had 
been on friendly terms with the conquering officers; indeed, 
some Russian officers who had been sent out for the purpose 
of surveying, had remained for days and nights together in the 
Turkoman encampment. 

There was no reason to believe that the Turkomans would 
break the truce. However, it would not do for the Tashkent 
column to return home without a little bloodshed. The glory 
of the war had been confined to the columns from the Caucasus 
and Orenburg, and the officers from Tashkent had done nothing 
to merit promotion. 

General Kauffmann now sent for the elders of the tribe, and 
declared that a part of the indemnity must be paid by them 

10 


218 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


within a fortnight, and the remainder later on. At the same 
time the general detained some of the elders as hostages until 
such time as the first installment of the indemnity had been 
paid in to the Russian treasury. But the Russian commander- 
in-chief was in a hurry, and instead of waiting the appointed 
time, he sent out a large detachment under General Golovatcheff 
to ascertain what chance there was of the payment being made. 

This general, in order to discover the intentions of the 
Turkomans, at once attacked the villages and encampments, 
burned their houses, destroyed some wagons laden with house¬ 
hold stores, and devastated the whole district. If the Tur¬ 
komans had been treated differently, they might have given a 
civil answer to the Russian general. But they are poor barba¬ 
rous creatures, utterly unacquainted with that European civiliza- 
tion which characterizes Russian troops, and they were so fool¬ 
ish as to be exceedingly angry. Indeed, later on, these wretched 
and ignorant Turkomans became utterly lost to all feelings of 
honor, and actually dared to attack General Golovatcheff’s 
camp at Illyali; but they had no chance against the breech¬ 
loaders of their foes, and were repulsed with great slaughter. 

The Turkomans now abandoned the district. Thev were 

%! 

disinclined to listen to any terms of peace which might subse¬ 
quently be offered them. However, they sent Golovatcbeff the 
following message: 

“ We know how to respect peace, and shall keep it if you 
will have peace with us; but if you will not have it, we shall 
fight, and we can fight well.” 

According to General Kryjinovsky, the Governor-general of 
Orenburg, the attack on the Turkomans was entirely uncalled 
for, and likely to lead to serious results.* “ It will now be 
necessary,” he said, “for us to send expeditions against the 
Turkomans for many years to come. Their country will be a 
second Caucasus, and in the end we shall be obliged to take 
them, which will undoubtedly lead to complications with Em 
gland.” 


* For the attack upon the Turkomans, see translation from the Vestnik 
Evropy of November, 1873, Appendix C. 



RUSSIAN TREATY WITH KHIVA. 


219 


This remark of General Kryjinovsky has every chance of 
being realized. Colonel Ivanoff, the commandant at Petro-Al- 
exandrovsk, already has had occasion to attack some bands of 
nomad Turkomans. On one occasion he made prisoners of 
two of these Arabs of the steppes.* They had pillaged, it was 
said, some Russian Kirghiz. In consequence of this, the cap¬ 
tive Turkomans were tried by court-martial and sentenced to 
death.' The sentence was shortly afterward put into execution. 

The Turkomans, on their side, have captured a Russian sol¬ 
dier. They refuse to surrender him until such time as they 
receive a sum of money for the widows of their two fellow- 
countrymen. The man has not been tried by court-martial 
by the Turkomans, probably on account of their ignorance of 
military law. When they become more civilized, they will 
doubtless follow the example set them by their Christian foe. 

On the 24th of August, 1873, a treaty of peace, which had 
been first of all approved by the Emperor, was made with 
Khiva. The khanate was reduced to a state of complete vas- 
saldom. The delta and right bank of the Oxus were ceded to 
Russia. The Oxus was closed to all save Russian and Khivan 
vessels; Russian merchants were allowed perfect freedom of 
commerce in the khanate, with liberty to purchase and hold 
property; a Russian fortress was to be built four miles south 
of Shurahan, and in a garden belonging to an uncle of the 
khan; while all the territory situated between the former Bo- 
kharo-Khivan frontier, the right bank of the Amu Darya, from 
Gugertli to Meshekly, and the line passing from Meshekly to 
the point of junction of the former Bokharo-Khivan frontier 
with the frontier of the Russian Empire, was taken from Khiva 
and annexed to the dominions of the Emir of Bokhara.! 

A life-long feud between Khiva and Bokhara will inevitably 
follow this redistribution of soil. If, after the Franco-Prussian 
war, the Germans, instead of taking Alsace and Lorraine for 
themselves, had forced Belgium to accept these provinces, the 
French could not have been expected to have looked with 


* See movements of Russian troops on the Oxus, Appendix 0. 
f See treaty between Russia and Bokhara, Appendix B. 




220 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


friendly eyes upon the new proprietors, and a spark would 
have been stritck, certain at some future period to burst out 
into flame. This will happen between Bokhara and Khiva. 
It will not be difficult to get some one to stir the fire, and the 
consequence will be the absolute incorporation of Bokhara and 
Khiva with the Russian Empire. 


THE GUIDE’S WIFE. 


221 


CHAPTER XXVIII. 

The Guide’s Kibitka.—His Wife.—His Brother-in-law.—Why not go to 
Khiva ?—Domestic Pressure.—Eating a Horse.—Letter to the Khan.— 
The Moullah.—Kapitan or Polkovnik.—A Letter in Russian.—Tchin.— 
Horse-dealing.—A Horse with one Eye.—Canals from the Oxus.—Jou- 
gouroo.—The Gray Horse.—A Purchase. 

Some men and women running out of one of the kibitkas, 
and warmly greeting the guide, announced to me that we had 
reached his home at Kalenderhana. In a short time I found 
myself seated on a rug, an object of curiosity to many of the 
inhabitants, who had never before seen a man dressed in Eu¬ 
ropean costume. Every part of my attire was in turn inspect¬ 
ed and commented upon, the women coming forward and feel¬ 
ing the texture of my coat and trousers, the large buttons being 
a source of great admiration. 

The hostess was clad in a flowing white dressing-gown, with 
a turban of the same color, folded many times around her small 
head. For a Kirghiz, she was decidedly good-looking, and well 
worth the hundred sheep her lord and master had paid for her. 
She was delighted at his arrival, and two ruddy-faoed little chil¬ 
dren were seated upon their father’s knee, and playing with his 
beard and mustache. The brother-in-law, a short, hump-back¬ 
ed fellow, who had been informed that I wished to purchase a 
horse, was most assiduous in his attentions. He seized a pillow 
which an aged relative, his grandfather, had secured for his own 
accommodation, and dragged it from beneath his elderly rela¬ 
tive ; then, pushing it behind my back, he patted me on the 
shoulder, and said that he had heard I wanted a horse. Well, 
he had the most beautiful of the equine race; it had perform¬ 
ed extraordinary feats, and was the wonder of all the village. 
We would look at it, and then I should see. Yes, what I should 
see! and, pouring me out some tea, he absolutely put four 
lumps of sugar in my glass, to the astonishment of the other 


222 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


inmates, who were aghast at such reckless extravagance. I re¬ 
plied, in a careless manner, that his horse was doubtlessly a 
beautiful one, but that at Petro there were lovely animals. If 
we went to the fort, I should very likely buy one there; but if 
we were not to go to Petro, but to Khiva, that then I would 
purchase his animal, and pay for it in the khan’s capital. This 
having been duly interpreted by Nazar, an animated conversa¬ 
tion took place among the members of the family, the guide 
being somewhat reluctant, and his brother-in-law and other 
relatives eager to contest all his arguments. He had already 
brought me off the route to Petro; he would very likely get 
punished for that. Why not go to Khiva ? And Nazar sug¬ 
gested that then we would not visit the fort at all, but would 
continue our journey to Bokhara. 

I now inquired if we could procure some camels to take us as 
far as that city. This was a fortunate remark, as it appeared 
that another of the guide’s relatives had camels for hire; and, 
eager that I should employ his animals, he exhausted all his el¬ 
oquence upon my follower to persuade him to go to Bokhara. 
The domestic pressure put upon the guide was too much for 
him. Turning to Nazar, he agreed to go on with us to Bokha¬ 
ra, where he said that we could hire fresh camels and return to 
Kasala, via Samarcand and Tashkent, thus avoiding altogether 
Fort Petro-Alexandrovsk. 

My faithful follower now wdiispered in my ear, “ We are to 
have a great feast to-night. The guide’s brother-in-law has a 
horse which is not very well. The animal is to be killed di¬ 
rectly, and we are to eat him.” Later on, an enormous caldron 
was suspended from a tripod across the fire, a heap of fagots 
was piled upon the embers, and a dense smoke filled the tent. 
Large pieces of the unfortunate quadruped were now thrown 
into the pot by the guide’s wife, who officiated as cook, the 
host and the rest of the party superintending the operations 
with the greatest interest. 

“ Will there be any thing else to eat ?” I inquired. 

“ No,” was the answer of my surprised Tartar. “ What 
more would you have? We might eat two sheep at a time; 
but a horse—no. There will, perhaps, be enough left for break- 


E^flSTG A HORSE. 


223 


fast, praise be to God for bis bountyand the little man, open¬ 
ing his mouth from ear to ear, licked his lips in anticipation of 
the banquet. 

A piece of raw cotton floating in some greasy substance, 
which was contained in a large iron ladle, threw a lurid light 
over the red faces of the hungry Kirghiz, eager to commence 
the banquet. 

The dark smoke from the rude lamp was curling itself in 
spiral columns amidst the dense gray clouds which ascended 
from the burning pile. From time to time some relative of 
the family, lifting up the thick cloth that served as a door, en¬ 
tered the dwelling. The sudden draft would then upheave the 
thick atmosphere, and, forcing it through the aperture, reveal 
the boundless canopy of the heavens, the sky studded with a 
million gems, while the queen of night, like a globe of metal¬ 
lic silver, cast her pale shadow through the half-raised rug or 
curtain. 

My hostess was rocking a recently born child with one hand, 
and stirring some rice, which was boiling in an adjacent kettle, 
with the other. My guide and Tartar servant were washing 
their hands and feet in the snow at the threshold. The broth¬ 
er-in-law was for the hundredth time informing me that his 
horse was a horse, and that all the rest of the equine race were 
mules in comparison, when the woman announced that the 
meat was done to a turn, and that all things were ready for 
the feast. 

A portion of the steed and some rice were given to me in a 
slop-basin. The rest of the party, calling upon Allah to bless 
the entertainment, squatted round the caldron, and thrust their 
hands into its seething contents, which speedily vanished down 
their throats. A conjurer, or fire-king, at a village fair, might 
have swallowed swords or flames, pokers or daggers, but he 
would have had no chance whatever if pitted to eat horse 
against my guide’s brother-in-law. I thought, when for the 
second time the caldron had been emptied, that this would 
have sufficed. But no, for each man strove to outdo his 
neighbor; belts and broad sashes were loosed from around the 
loins; and Nazar, who had made up his mind that he ought to 


224 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


eat for his master as well as himself, was actually swelling be¬ 
fore my eyes, and becoming wheezy in his utterances. 

Overeating would seem to paralyze a man’s speech almost as 
much as excess in alcohol; and the hoarse, breathed-out tones 
of the Kirghiz men jarred on the ear in comparison with the 
clear voices of the females, w T ho, not daring to eat at the same 
time as their lords and masters, stood round and helped them 
to the most savory pieces. 

At times the guide, by way of honoring me in the person 
of Nazar, would take a greasy piece of meat from the iron ket¬ 
tle, and, holding the luscious morsel up at arms-length, so that 
all might perceive his intention, would slowly insert it in Na¬ 
zar’s mouth; the latter gulping down the half-raw flesh with¬ 
out any attempt at mastication, in order to show how highly 
he appreciated the compliment. 

I hoped that this would wind up the entertainment, but the 
feasters were far from having any such intention; and the 
same process of gorging going on steadily throughout the 
night and early morning, announced to me that my follower 
would very likely be wrong in his conjecture, and that ere 
breakfast-time all the horse would have disappeared. 

Long, narrow, wooden carts, each with high wheels, were all 
the morning bringing grass into the village for the horses of 
the inhabitants. A few trees planted here and there, the first 
that we had seen since leaving Kasala, afforded a pleasing 
change to the vision, tired of gazing over snow and low-brush¬ 
wood, while a large supply of hay in an inclosure hard by the 
kibitka showed that my guide had armed himself against the 
danger of a sudden thaw. 

He now informed me that I could not go to the town of 
Khiva without first having the khan’s permission, and said 
that a letter must be written to that sovereign and sent before 
us, asking his leave for my followers and self to enter the city. 
This piece of information rather startled me. I had been un¬ 
der the impression that all I had to do was to ride to the town, 
encamp outside the walls, and ride in each day so as to inspect 
every thing worth seeing. However, according to the guide, 
not even this could be done without the khan’s permission. 


THE MOULLAH AND HIS WRITING MATERIALS. 


225 


I was puzzled, not knowing in what language to address 
him. My servant could not write in Tartar, and I was afraid 
that if I dispatched a letter written in Arabic, some uninten¬ 
tional omission of the due amount of courteous expressions 
which one is bound to use when writing to a sovereign might 
olfend this Khivan potentate. 

Nazar at last proposed that I should inquire for some moul- 
lah who could write a letter in the Tartar language. On ask¬ 
ing the guide, he at once sent for a learned man who, he said, 
could write beautiful things, so soft and sweet that they were 
like the sounds of sheep bleating i^u the distance. 

Presently the scribe arrived. He was a tall, angular-looking 
man, one shoulder being much higher than the other, while his 
dressing-gown bore signs of its having been originally made 
for a much shorter individual than himself. His long arms 
protruded through the sleeves, showing several inches of shirt¬ 
less skin. He entered the kibitka with an air of great impor¬ 
tance, w r hile the party rose at his approach, much awed at the 
arrival of a person who had as much there, as the guide ob¬ 
served, pointing to his own head, as was in the united occiputs 
of all the people in the village. 

The moullah carried an inkstand made of bullock’s horn: 
the ink was of the thickest possible description, while a wood¬ 
en stopper at each end of the horn formed the top and bottom 
of the inkstand. He unfolded a sheet of paper, and, squat¬ 
ting down by my side, he pulled out one of the plugs from the 
horn bottle, at the same time producing a long style made of 
cane, which served him in lieu of a pen. 

A dead silence reigned around; all the inmates of the kibit¬ 
ka were appalled by the preparations of the moullah. Writ¬ 
ing a letter was no every-day occurrence in that village; and 
the man who was able to make a piece of paper speak—the 
common definition of writing amidst savage nations — was 
looked upon as a prodigy of learning. 

The guide, however, did not appear so aw^ed as the rest of 
his relatives. Had he not been to Kasala and seen the clerks 
write? “Why, some of the Russian soldiers could do as 
much!” and saying this in a muttered tone to Nazar, he undid 

10 * 


226 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


a small parcel, and taking out some coarse snuff, put a quan¬ 
tity on the back of his hand, which he snuffed up his nostrils 
with an air of the greatest delectation. 

“ What shall I say ?” inquired the moullah. “ What is your 
tchin [rank] ?” 

“ No particular rank,” I observed. “ You can leave that 
out.” 

“ No,” said the moullah; “ we must have some tchin. Are 
you a polkovnik [a colonel] ?” 

“ No, only a kapitan [captain].” 

The moullah here picked his ear with his pen, and, turning 
to Nazar, said something. 

“ What is it?” I inquired. 

“ Why, kapitan will not do. They look down upon kapi- 
tans at Khiva. The word is like the Tartar word “ kabtan,” and 
gives no idea of rank to a Khivan. Better say polkovnik.” 

In the mean time the moullah had written a most flowery 
epistle. Nazar said it was beautiful, and all the rest of the 
party greatly admired the composition. However, the word 
polkovnik was still inserted, and the moullah was so pleased 
with the letter that he would not erase the expression. Giving 
the fellow some silver, I determined to write to the khan my¬ 
self, and in the Russian language, as I had learned from the 
guide that there were two or three Tartars in the city who 
acted as interpreters. I wrote as follows: 

“An English gentleman who is traveling through Central 
Asia requests the permission of His Majesty the Khan to visit 
his celebrated capital.” 

“ That will not do,” said Nazar, dolefully ; “ there is no 
tchin. Why do not you call yourself polkovnik? We shall 
not be received with due importance.” And the little man sat 
down on the carpet with an indignant air, as if to say, “ See 
how you have humbled me !” 

A young fellow was found to go forward with the missive, 
and it was arranged that he should start at once with the let¬ 
ter, while the caravan and myself would follow on later in the 
day. 

In the mean time the horse had been sent for. Presently 


PURCHASE OF A HORSE. 


227 


he arrived, escorted by the whole village, every body being ea¬ 
ger to sing his praises save those who had animals of their own 
for sale. One old man sought to attract my attention by shak¬ 
ing his head violently and frowning at the horse when he 
thought that his owner was not looking; but the aged gentle¬ 
man assumed the most pleasant of smiles should any one save 
myself catch his eye. 

“ He has a beast of his own for sale,” said Nazar. “ Look 
thereand he pointed to a brute which was lame all round, 
and which looked only fit for the knacker’s yard. Neither of 
the animals would suit, the one belonging to the guide’s broth¬ 
er-in-law being blind in one eye. This the unblushing Kirghiz 
said was of no consequence at all, for in his opinion one eye was 
just as good as two; however, he remarked that if we would 
continue our journey to another kibitka, about five versts’ dis¬ 
tance, he could then show me some horses with two eyes. 

“ Yes, with two eyes!” said all the rest of the party, gravely 
wagging their heads, as if such a complement of vision in one 
horse were a most remarkable fact in natural history. Our 
road now lay south-west, and in the direction of the town of 
Oogentch, which is distant about twenty-three versts from Ka- 
lenderhana. The country appeared to be highly cultivated, ca¬ 
nals innumerable cutting the fields at right angles to each oth¬ 
er, and arranged so as to supply the district with water from 
the Oxus. Corn is grown in great abundance in this neighbor¬ 
hood, and also jougouroo, a species of grain which the Kirghiz 
and Khivans give their horses instead of barley. 

Presently we came to another aul, which was also the prop¬ 
erty of the guide’s brother-in-law. I had begun to hate that 
man even more than Weller senior could have hated his moth- 
er-in-law. I did not want to buy any of the fellow’s horses; I 
felt convinced that if he were to sell me one, it would be a 
screw, or have some defect which I should only discover after 
the purchase was completed. But there was no help for it. 
It was one of those disagreeable things which had to be done, 
that is to say, if I wished to see Khiva; and the guide had al¬ 
ready shown a little impatience at my not having bought the 
one-eyed brute showm me at the last kibitka. 


I 


228 A RIDE TO KHIVA, 

This time a gray horse was brought out for inspection. The 
lad who rode him, cracking his whip, rode straight at a ditch 
about ten feet wide, and got his animal over all right. The 
animal had two eyes, which was also a consideration, so I said 
that I would buy him, and pay for my purchase in Khiva. But 
no; this proposal did not meet the brother-in-law’s approval. 
He knit his brows, and remarked to Nazar that I might be 
honest or I might be a rogue, “God only knew.” If I took 
the horse, why, perhaps the money would not be sent back, 
and he would lose the animal. People had stolen horses be¬ 
fore, and would steal them again. 

I here became a little indignant, and informed him that 
horse-stealing was not such a common occurrence in my coun¬ 
try as in his, and that if I wished to steal a horse I should not 
steal a useless brute like the one I was about to purchase ; that 
the guide knew who I was, and that if I might have the animal 
the money should be paid in Khiva. This the brother-in-law 
would not hear of for a moment, apparently fearing that if the 
money once came into the possession of the guide there was 
little chance of the latter returning it to him. Finally mat¬ 
ters were compromised, I agreeing to pay half the amount 
down and send the other half back with the messenger who 
had been dispatched with my letter to the khan. A saddle 
and bridle were also bought, and Nazar, descending from his 
huge camel, mounted the new purchase. 


ARRIVAL UPON THE BANKS OF THE AMU DARYA. 229 


CHAPTER XXIX. 

The Oozek.— A Fragile Bridge.—The Oxus.—Khivan Taxation.—Russian 
Imports.—The Traders.—A Slug.—A Caravan.—Costumes.—Saddles.— 
Khivan Horses.—Salam Aaleikom.—Quarters for the Night.—Hospital¬ 
ity-—A Khivan House.—Melons.—Hindoostan and England.—Railways. 
—An Iron Horse.—Five Hundred Yersts in Twenty-four Hours. 

Now we crossed a little stream about twenty yards wide, 
known by tlie name of the Oozek. It was said to be a tribu¬ 
tary of the Oxus. A rough bridge made of cross-poles, sticks, 
and dried clay afforded a means of crossing the water; for the 
banks were too steep to admit of a descent to the frozen sur¬ 
face. Finally, after riding along a narrow path planted on both 
sides with high reeds, we arrived upon the banks of the Amu 
Darya, and I gazed on that world-renowned stream, which in 
my boyish days it had been my dream to visit. 

The mighty Oxus—the Oxus of Alexander—lay at my feet, 
its banks bound together by a bridge of transparent ice, which, 
here at least half a mile broad, is the boundary-line separating 
the subjects of the khan from those who pay tribute to the 
Tzar. 

Each Khivan has to pay an annual tax of eleven rubles for 
his house to the khan, while the inhabitants on the right bank 
of the river pay four rubles per kibitka to the Russian authori¬ 
ties. The Khivans, however, who live in town pay no taxes, 
and the sovereign obtains the greater part of his revenues from 
crown-lands, and from a duty of two and a half per cent, on 
the value of all goods which are imported or exported from his 
dominions. But this source of income is now curtailed, as the 
khan has become a vassal of the Emperor, and Russian goods 
pay no duty whatever.* 

Before crossing the Oxus we dismounted for a short time at 


* See treaty with Khiva, Appendix B. 



230 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


a kibitka hard by the river. It was in former years a station- 
house where custom duties were levied on all goods brought 
from Russia. A few Khivans were warming their hands over 
a wood fire; they had come from Oogentch, and were going 
to trade in Sliuraban, a town near Petro- Alexandrovsk, and 
which formerlv belonged to the khan, but has now been seized 
by the Russians. The merchants were fine-looking fellows, 
with a very different type of countenance from the Tartars 
and Kirghiz, the dark complexion and large eyes with slightly 
Jewish nose of the Khivans being the very opposite to the 
broad, barge-shaped faces, ruddy cheeks, and little eyes of the 
Tartars. 

One of the traders recognized my fresh horse, and laughed 
as he pointed him out to his companions. 

“ What is it ?” I inquired of Nazar. 

“ They only say that he is a slug, and stumbles,” observed 
the latter. “ He nearly fell with me as we were coming here. 
Please God I do not break my neck before we reach Khiva.” 

We met quantities of arbas—two-wheeled native carts—each 
of them drawn by one horse, as we rode across the river. A 
caravan, with camels belonging to the merchant in the station, 
was also traversing the frozen stream, which, as hard as a turn¬ 
pike road, would have safely borne a battery of eighteen-pound¬ 
ers. The Khivans whom we met were, for the most part, dress¬ 
ed in long, red dressing-gowns, which reached down to their 
heels. These garments were made of a mixture of silk and 
cotton stuff, while they were thickly wadded with a species of 
quilting, to defend the wearers from the cold. Tall, black 
lamb-skin hats, taller even than a Foot-guardsman’s bear-skin, 
covered their heads, and each man carried, strapped to his sad¬ 
dle, a long single-barreled gun, with a short, highly ornamented 
stock. The saddles, which were made of wood, were highly 
ornamented with gold, enamel, and turquois stones, while the 
bridles and steel appurtenances were clean and well appointed, 
in this respect affording a striking contrast to the slovenly 
equipment of the Tartars. The horses, too, were of a different 
breed, being much larger animals than those which I had seen 
on the steppes — the Khivan horses averaging about fifteen 


IN SEARCH OF HOSPITALITY. 


231 


hands, while a good many which I met could not have been 
less than sixteen. 

Every man whom we encountered in our path never failed 
to salute us with the regular Arab salutation, “Salam aalei- 
kom,” each of us in turn responding “ Aaleikom salamand 
the varied tones of the wayfarers, as two large caravans passed 
each other, broke upon the ear almost like a response in the 
Litany, and carried my thoughts like a flash of lightning to 
very different scenes in my island home. 

The shades of night were falling fast, and the guide, riding 
up, informed me that it would be better not to continue our 
march to Oogentch, but to halt at one of the many houses 
which were now to be met with at every turn. On my assent¬ 
ing to his proposal, he began to look about and to carefully in¬ 
spect each abode which we passed. 

“What is he doing?” I inquired of Nazar. 

“ He is trying to find a house where the owner is well off, 
and can give us plenty to eat,” was the answer. “ It is no 
good stopping for the night at any beggar’s house, and getting 
starved in consequence.” 

The guide’s search was finally rewarded, and he pulled up by 
the side of a large, substantial-looking, square building, built of 
dried clay. High wooden gates, studded with iron clampings, 
gave access to the dwelling. The guide rapped with his whip- 
handle against the door. An old man, bent nearly double with 
age, tottered out and asked our business. 

“ We want your hospitality for the night,” was the answer. 
When, as if this were the most natural thing in the world, the 
old fellow called out to his servants. Several of them ran for¬ 
ward, and, taking hold of my horse, aided me to dismount. 

It now turned out that what I had at first taken for a house 
was merely a square court-yard, consisting of four high walls, 
while the edifice itself, built of the same material as the in¬ 
closure, was erected inside the gates. A similar entrance, on a 
smaller scale, led to some stables, which, in their turn, gave ac¬ 
cess to that part of the building which was inhabited by the 
family. Another door, however, on the opposite side of the 
dwelling, led to the harem and more private apartments. My 


232 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


host gave an order that our horses and camels were to be well 
fed; and seeing that Nazar was in the act of taking some 
barley from the sacks on our camels, made a sign for him to 
desist. 

“Have I not corn?” he remarked. “Are not you my 
guests?” and calling his servants, he desired them to look 
after our animals as if they were his own. 

I now found myself in a lofty room, which was reserved for 
great occasions, and for strangers like myself. One end of the 
apartment was covered with thick carpets; this was the place 
of honor for the visitors. In the centre of the room, and where 
there were no rugs, was a small square hearth; this was filled 
with some charcoal embers, which were surrounded by a cop¬ 
ing of about three inches in height, forming a species of fend¬ 
er. On the coping stood a copper vessel of the same shape as 
many of the so-called Pompeian ewers. The vessel was rich¬ 
ly chased, and constructed with a long swan-like neck, so that 
the attendant might the more conveniently pour water over 
the hands of his master’s guests before they commenced their 
repast. On the other side of the hearth there was a square 
hole about three feet deep. Two steps led down to it, the cav¬ 
ity being adorned with variegated tiles; this was the place for 
ablutions, and thus arranged so as to keep the water from wet¬ 
ting the other parts of the apartment. 

Two narrow slits, each about two feet long by six inches 
wide, supplied the place of windows, and some open wooden 
trellis-work served as shutters, there being no glass, which is 
unknown in these parts. A few pegs in the wall on which we 
could hang our clothes supplied the place of a wardrobe, while 
the floor on the opposite side of the room to that reserved for 
myself was covered with coarse cloth, and arranged for my 
retinue. 

Presently the host appeared. He bore in his hand a large 
earthenware dish full of rice and mutton, while his servants 
brought baskets filled with bread and hard-boiled eggs. Some 
milk was now produced in an earthenware pitcher, and an enor¬ 
mous melon, which weighed quite twenty-five pounds, was car¬ 
ried in on a tray. All the dishes were placed at my feet, I be- 


KHIYAN MELONS. 


233 


ing seated on the carpets, my head supported by a richly color¬ 
ed silk cushion, which had been specially brought by my enter¬ 
tainer. When all the viands had been thus set round me, the 
host, bowing to the ground, asked permission to retire; then, 
walking backward a few steps, he sat down beside Nazar and 
the guide, who were gazing greedily upon the dishes—a strik¬ 
ing change to the rough fare which we had lived upon for the 
previous thirteen days. 

I made a sign for the owner of the house to approach and 
sit down by my side. With an air of great humility he com¬ 
plied with my request, the host on such occasions thinking it 
his duty to play the part of a servant to his guest. 

I was much surprised at the size and flavor of the fruit, 
which was as fresh as on the day when it had been first pick¬ 
ed. The climate is so dry that all the Khivans have to do to 
preserve their melons is to hang them up in a temperature 
about two degrees above freezing-point; for, should the frost 
ever attack them, they lose all their flavor, and are useless for 
the table. The melons here have a fame which is celebrated all 
over the East. In former years they were sent as far as Pekin 
for the Emperor of China’s table. Some of them attain forty 
pounds in weight, while the taste is so delicious that any one 
only accustomed to this fruit in Europe would scarcely recog¬ 
nize its relationship with the delicate and highly perfumed mel¬ 
ons of Khiva. 

The host, when he got over his first diffidence, asked many 
questions about the countries through which I had passed. He 
had the idea that to go to England his direction would be east¬ 
ward from Khiva. Geographical knowledge in the khan’s do¬ 
minions is very limited, and Hindoostan and England are con¬ 
tinually blended together under the same head. 

“ So you have been thirteen days coming here from Kasala!” 
he exclaimed. “ Praise be to God, who has allowed you to 
pass the desert in safety. Have you camels in your country ?” 

“ No,” I replied, “ but we have trains with iron wheels; they 
run upon long strips of iron, which are laid upon the ground 
for the wheels to roll over.” 

“ Do the horses drag them very fast ?” he asked. 


234 


A HIDE TO KHIVA. 


“ We do not use live horses, but we make a horse of iron and 
fill him with water, and put fire under the water. The water 
boils, and turns into steam. The steam is very powerful; it 
rushes out of the horse’s stomach, and turns large wheels which 
we give him instead of legs. The wheels revolve over the iron 
lines which we have previously laid down, and the horse, which 
we call an engine, moves very quickly, dragging the arbas be¬ 
hind him: they are made of wood and iron, and have four 
wheels, not two, like your arbas in Khiva. The pace is so 
great that if your khan had an iron horse and a railway he 
could go to Kasala in one day.” 

“ It is a miracle!” said the Khivan, as Nazar translated to 
him my little speech, my servant himself, who had never seen 
a railway, being a little incredulous as to the possibility of go¬ 
ing five hundred versts in twenty-four hours. The guide, who 
sat on the opposite side of the fire, and was engaged in wash¬ 
ing his feet over the cavity in the floor, now remarked that his 
brother-in-law had the best horses in the steppes, but that they 
could not do the distance in less than ten days; then how 
could a horse that was made of iron, and with wheels instead 
of legs, do it in one ? If it could, we were conjurers, like the 
man he had once seen swallow a sword at Kasala. “ But who 
knew!” He had heard something about it at the Fort, and he 
looked down contemptuously at the host’s servants, who had 
assembled to gaze upon the new arrivals, and who were not 
traveled men like himself—a man who had been to Kasala and 
back being considered a great traveler by the Khivans. 

Nazar, who did not want to be outdone in this way by the 
guide, now said, 

“ They have got wires which speak in Russia. This I have 
seen myself; they are fastened to the top of high poles, and 
the wires extend over miles of country. Any man in Sizeran 
who may wish to say something to a friend in Orenburg goes 
to one end of the wire; they turn a handle, and it makes a 
noise at the other end in Orenburg; the moullali there under¬ 
stands what the wire says, and you can talk almost as fast as if 
you were actually speaking to your friend.” 

“ I have heard something about this,” said our host. “ There 


HOSPITALITY TO BE PAID FOR. 


235 


was a merchant who passed through here two years ago, and he 
told me about it. He said that there was one of these speak¬ 
ing-wires all the way from St. Petersburg to Tashkent, and that 
the White Tzar could speak with his soldiers at Tashkent. He 
also said that they were going to make a speaking-wire to Pe- 
tro-Alexandrovsk, and that then we could know every thing 
that was happening at Kasala, and the price of cotton at Oren¬ 
burg, without having to send a letter.” 

The evening was far advanced, and the host, seeing that I 
was very drowsy, retired, when Nazar, the guide, and camel- 
driver, drawing the piece of cloth close to the embers, stretched 
themselves out at full length, and soon fell asleep. 

On the morrow I was puzzled to know how to reward my 
host for his hospitality ; however, on inquiring, I was informed 
that the custom in those parts was for the guest to make a 
present to his host, and that the best thing would be for me to 
give as many rubles as I thought just. This is the system uni¬ 
versally adopted throughout Central Asia in the places where 
there are no caravansaries, or regular hostelries, for the travel¬ 
ers. The Khivans are thus enabled to carry out the injunc¬ 
tions of their prophet to the letter, and to lavish hospitality on 
their guest, being sure that on his departure they will be well 
remunerated for their trouble, and for the expenses which they 
may have incurred. 


236 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


CHAPTER XXX. 

Oogentch.—The Town.—The Bazaar.—A Barber’s Shop.—“ These Infidels 
have Strange Customs.”—“ Please God you do not get your Throat cut!” 
—Breakfast with a Khivan Merchant.—India a Mine of Wealth in the 
Eyes of the Russians in Tashkent.—There are Many Roads to India.—A 
Fort at Merve.—Shabbatat Canal.—The Bridge.—The Cemetery.—The 
Tombs.—Fearful Scenes.—“Who began the War?”—The Kazabat Ca¬ 
nal.—Shamahoolhoor.—A Sportsman.—“You have not got a Wife?”— 
A Breech-loader.—“ The Khan has now no Soldiers.” 

We were about four versts from Oogentch, the first town 
the traveler arrives at in Khivan territory, if going from Ka- 
lenderhana to the capital. There was a singular dearth of ris¬ 
ing ground throughout the route; and if it had not been for 
the hundreds of dikes which traversed the country on every 
side, I should have imagined myself back upon the steppes. 
The snow, too, which had almost disappeared as we passed 
through the defile in the Kazan-Tor of mountains, now lay 
thick and flaky on the ground; wdiile the cold, in spite of the 
latitude to which we had attained, was as intense as ever. 

Large gardens inclosed by high walls were dotted about the 
landscape, and square-built houses similar to the one in which 
I had passed the night became more frequent as we gradually 
neared the town. Indeed, if the Khivans had only been sup¬ 
plied with arms and a good leader, it would have been difficult 
for the Russians to have entered Oogentch, as every walled gar¬ 
den could have been turned into a citadel, and a few resolute 
men with breech-loaders might have caused great destruction 
in the invaders’ ranks. 

The merchants in Oogentch seemed to do a considerable 
trade with the people of the surrounding districts, for the road 
was every now and then blocked up by hundreds of carts, all 
bringing corn and various kinds of grass to the market, while 
numerous camels laden with goods from other parts of the 


NOVELTIES IN A KHIVAN BAZAAR. 


237 


khanate had been formed into one vast caravan, which extend¬ 
ed for more than a mile, and was slowly filing into the town. 
The latter was defended by a ditch and high wall made of dried 
clay, now much out of repair, and masses of its debris had in 
many places choked up the surrounding trench. 

The people gazed curiously at me as we rode through the 
narrow streets, my sheep-skin attire not being a customary one 
in those parts ; and some of the inhabitants, stopping the guide, 
inquired if I were a Russian. 

“ No,” was the answer—“ an Englishman.” 

The announcement of my nationality produced an evident 
revulsion of feeling in the Khivans, who did not appear to bear 
much good-will toward their conquerors. 

The bazaar through which we rode was held in a narrow 
street: this was partly covered over with rafters and straw, 
probably in order to protect the passers-by from the rays of 
the sun during the summer months. Grapes, dried fruits, and 
melons were for sale in many of the stalls: these last were 
niches or recesses in the walls, and no windows or shutters of 
any kind separated these primitive shops from the thorough¬ 
fare. In the centre of each recess sat the proprietor, surround¬ 
ed by his wares, and generally engaged in warming his hands 
over a charcoal pan, which, mounted on a tripod stand, stood 
before him. Farther on, men were to be seen hammering into 
different shapes sheets of copper brought from Russia, and 
manufacturing water-bottles and pipes. All sorts of bright- 
colored calico stuffs were offered for sale, and found ready pur¬ 
chasers, while thick skeins of silk of various hues, and spun in 
the country, were readily exchanged for Russian paper money, 
which passes in Oogentch as well as the native currency. Wom¬ 
en continually flitted past us in the street, taking sly glances at 
the strangers through the corner of their veils; the fair sex in 
Khiva not having their faces uncovered, as is the custom among 
the Kirghiz, but obeying strictly the rules laid down for their 
guidance by the Prophet. 

As I expected to arrive at the capital either that afternoon 
or the following day, and wished to make my entrance into the 
city clean-shaved, and not with a beard of thirteen days’ growth, 


238 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


I asked Nazar to make inquiries whether a barber could be 
'•found in the neighborhood. The news that the Englishman 
wanted to be shaved was soon spread through the town, and a 
boy volunteered to show me the way to the barber’s shop. We 
were followed there by a crowd of certainly from three to four 
hundred people. It was the more remarkable to them, as the 
report had been spread that the stranger would have his chin 
shaved and not his head, the Khivans keeping their heads as 
devoid of hair as a block of marble. 

“ Have your head shaved, sir,” said Nazar; “ it will look so 
nice — just like mine;” and, lifting off a green skull-cap, he 
showed me his bullet-like poll. 

If I had been quite certain that my hair would have grown 
again, in all probability I should have followed my man’s ex¬ 
ample ; but not wishing to return to London with my head a 
la Nazar, I declined the proposal. 

On arriving at the shop, we dismounted, and sat down in the 
recess by the barber’s side. The crowd had now greatly in¬ 
creased, and was each moment becoming more dense, the whole 
town having by this time become aware that an Englishman 
was within the walls, and that he was about to be shaved. 
Moullahs, camel - drivers, and merchants jostled the one with 
the other to obtain a good view. Their bronzed faces glanced 
and peered through the fur of their Astrakhan hats; and the 
idea occurred to me that, if the barber were fanatically dis¬ 
posed, he might think that it would be doing a good deed in 
the eyes of Allah and of his own countrymen if he were forth¬ 
with to cut the throat of the unbeliever. 

There was not a single Russian in Oogentch, and no author¬ 
ities save the moullahs, or priests, who, in all probability, would 
be more fanatically disposed than even the rest of the popula¬ 
tion. 

The remark made by the district governor at Kasala now 
flashed across my mind—“ If you go to Khiva without an es- 
. cort, the khan will very likely have your eyes taken out, or or¬ 
der you into a dungeon.” 

However, nothing was to be gained by crying over spilled 
milk—the die was cast; I was in Khivan territory, and, what 


SHAVING AS PRACTICED AT OOGENTCH. 


239 


was far more to the point, in the hands of the barber, who was 
busily engaged in rubbing a thin strip of steel on a whetstone, 
the former article supplying the place of a razor, a handle be¬ 
ing considered an unnecessary luxury. The street in front of 
the shop was now completely blocked up by the crow T d. The 
people behind, who were not able to see as well as they could 
wish, called out to their friends who hid the performance from 
their view, and made them sit down, so that all might be able 
to enjoy the spectacle. If their curiosity was excited, mine was 
equally aroused. It was a strange scene, the crowd of eager 
faces, all staring intently into the recess: even some women, in 
spite of the prohibitory law, had stopped for a moment, and 
were looking at the performance with unmixed astonishment. 
If I had been in the hands of an executioner and about to have 
my throat cut, this would not have been half so interesting to 
them ; for was I not having my chin shaved ? “ What will 

he do next ?” asked one of the most curious of his neighbor. 
“ Perhaps have his mustache shaved,” was the reply; “ but who 
knows ? These infidels have strange customsand the excite¬ 
ment grew to boiling pitch. 

My little Tartar began to be rather alarmed; he had not 
anticipated such a gathering, and he murmured in my ear, 
“ Please God you do not get your throat cut! They might cut 
mine too. Allah preserve us, and bring us out of this scrape J 
Have your head shaved, it will please them.” 

At that moment the barber had put the dirty thumb of his 
left hand into my mouth, and was brandishing the razor in the 
air; no soap being used, as water was considered quite suffi¬ 
cient. Even under the most favorable circumstances, with a 
well-lathered chin and the sharpest of razors, being shaved, if 
one’s beard luxuriates in a two weeks’ growth, is not a pleas¬ 
ant process, but at Oogentch it was a highly painful operation. 
The razor at each movement of the barber’s wrist tore out 
those hairs in my beard which it was too blunt to cut. The 
people were delighted. They were not prepared for this feat¬ 
ure in the entertainment, and they roared with laughter as I 
slightly winced. Later on, the crowd became still more hila¬ 
rious, and its enjoyment of the proceedings was greatly in- 


240 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


creased, for the awkward barber, who was confused at the 
presence of so large a number of spectators, became a little 
nervous, trembled, and gashed my cheek. 

The operation was at last over, and I was preparing to leave 
the shop, when a merchant came forward, and addressing me 
in Russian, asked me to breakfast with him. On my entering 
the recess where his wares were exposed for sale, he removed a 
curtain which hung in an obscure corner, and, stooping, led the 
way through a low covered way into a good-sized room. This 
was the apartment used by his family. His wife was seated 
there, engaged in performing some culinary operations over a 
charcoal lire. Her face was uncovered, as she did not expect 
any visitors, and with a rapid movement of her thick white 
shawl she entirely concealed her features. She was not by any 
means a beauty, and her personal attractions not such as to 
overcome a traveler; however, thinking it best to keep us out 
of temptation, she left the room and entered the harem, which 
■was divided by a curtain from the apartment in which we 
found ourselves. 

A dish composed of small pieces of roast pheasant, served up 
with a slightly acid sauce and surrounded by a huge pile of 
rice, was now brought in, followed by fried fish much resem¬ 
bling gudgeon ; and while I was eating, the host plied me with 
questions about the countries through which I had traveled. 
He was ignorant that any water communication existed be¬ 
tween Great Britain and India, and thought that the ordinary 
route from England to that empire lay through China. He 
was aware, however, that England was not the same country 
as India, thus showing more geographical knowledge than was 
possessed by his compatriot at our sleeping quarters of the 
previous evening. 

My host had been for some time at Tashkent, where he had 
learned Russian. He had also been to Bokhara, and had spo¬ 
ken with several merchants who had gone with caravans to Ca- 
bul and Lahore. He v r as the more curious at meeting me, 
as he said that he had never seen an Englishman, and was very 
anxious to know whether there was any chance of a war be¬ 
tween Great Britain and Russia. This, he observed, was look- 


MY HOST THE MERCHANT. 


241 


ed upon in Tashkent as certain soon to happen, the Russian 
inhabitants of that city talking about India as of a mine of 
wealth, from which they would be able to replenish their empty 
purses. 

“How will they march to India?” I inquired. “There are 
high mountains which block the way ; and, besides this, if they 
were to come, how do you know that we should let them get 
back again ?” 

“ There are many roads,” he answered. “ Merchants go 
from Bokhara to Cabul in sixteen days in the summer months; 
then there is the road through Merve and Herat, which is now 
stopped by the Turkomans, but which the Russians are going 
to open, and at the same time to build a fort at Merve. You 
have fine soldiers in India,” he continued; “ but we are told 
that the natives of India do not like you, and will look upon 
the Russians as deliverers.” 

“ How do you like the Russians ?” I inquired. 

“ Pretty well; they buy my goods when I am at Tashkent, 
and leave alone small people like myself. If I were rich, it 
would be another matter; but then I could bribe—money will 
go a long way with the colonels, and even the generals do not 
always keep their palms shut.” 

“ Were you in Khiva when the country was taken ?” I 
asked. 

“ No; I was then at Tashkent, and we thought that the 
Russians would never get here. It was fearful,” he added, “ so 
much bloodshed; so many friends killed; such cruelties: war 
is a dreadful thing.” 

“-Perhaps we shall meet some time or other in India,” I re¬ 
marked, “ and then I will return your hospitality.” 

“ That is to say if the Russians let you,” replied the man; 
“ but when they are in Hindoostan there will not be much left 
for yourselves, or the natives either, for the matter of that; 
the officers here know how to squeeze money out of a stone.” 

Nazar now came in. He informed us that the horses were 
ready, and that the guide was waiting for me to continue the 
journey; so, pressing a few rubles on my entertainer, I mount¬ 
ed and rode off toward the capital. On emerging once more 

11 


242 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


into the country, I found that the road was separated on each 
side from the adjacent lands by low walls of dried clay, each 
about four feet in height; and the neighboring fields were 
divided from each other by ditches, which marked the bound¬ 
aries of the respective properties. About nine versts from 
Oogentch we crossed a canal known by the name of the 
Shabbatat. This was surmounted by a bridge constructed, in 
the clumsiest manner, of upright beams driven into the mud 
below, and cross planks with earth thrown on them to form 
the road. There was no wall or parapet on either side to pre¬ 
vent the passenger from falling into the stream, w r hich was at 
least twelve feet below, and with a frightened horse or drunk¬ 
en coachman it was not the sort of place that a nervous man 
would like to cross on a dark night. 

The road was now no longer inclosed, and we rode through 
a sandy track of seemingly uncultivated ground till we ar¬ 
rived at a cemetery. Here the tombs were made of dried clay, 
and formed in strange and fantastic shapes to suit the caprice 
or taste of the dead one’s relatives. Banners or large white 
flags, mounted on poles ten or twelve feet high, floated in the 
breeze over several of the sepulchres, and marked the burial- 
place of some fallen hero or other, famous for his valor and 
prowess; while mounds of earth, unadorned save by the rising 
vegetation, were the last resting-places of his humbler follow¬ 
ers. A small dwelling hard by this dead men’s home was ten¬ 
anted by an aged moullah, whose office it was to look after the 
cemetery, and offer up prayers for the departed. A lad now 
approached us, and offering me some dried fruits and tea, in¬ 
vited us to dismount and share their hospitality. 

Later on, I walked round the tombs, accompanied by the old 
moullah, who told of the fearful scenes enacted during the en- 
emy’s advance on his country; and on being informed that I 
was not a Russian, he heaped deep curses on the invaders. 
“ They say that we began the war,” muttered the old man, 
“ and it was they who imprisoned our merchants at Kasala in 
order to provoke the khan: but our day is gone by, and the 
infidels remain our masters.” 

After riding about seven versts farther, we crossed another 


MY HOST'S INQUIRIES. 


243 


canal called the Kazabat, and as night was coming on, and 
there were no signs of the messenger I had sent forward to 
Khiva, we halted at a village called Shamahoolhoor. Here it 
was not even necessary for the guide to ask for hospitality. 
A fine-looking man, with a cheery, frank expression on his nut- 
brown face, came out of a substantially built house, and asked 
us to honor his roof bv resting beneath it till the morrow. 
He was apparently better olf than the owner of the dwelling 
where we had stopped the previous evening; and the room 
set apart for guests, though furnished in the same style as our 
quarters of the night before, was much larger, and the carpets, 
etc., of better quality. 

Our host was a sportsman, and kept several hawks, these 
birds being much used in the chase by the Khivans. They 
are flown at hares or saigaks, a species of antelope; when the 
hawk, hovering above its prey’s head, strikes him between the 
eyes, and the animal, becoming bewildered, does not know 
which way to turn, and falls an easy victim to the hounds. 

“ Do you not hunt in this way in your country ?” asked the 
host. 

“ No; we hunt foxes, but only with hounds, and follow our¬ 
selves on horseback.” 

“ Are your horses like our own ?” he inquired. 

“ No ; they are stouter-built, as a rule, have better shoulders, 
and are stronger animals; but though they can gallop faster 
than your horses for a short distance, I do not think they can 
last so long.” 

“Which do you like best, your horse or your wife?” in¬ 
quired the man. 

“ That depends upon the woman,” I replied ; and the guide, 
here joining in the conversation, said in England they do not 
buy or sell their wives, and that I was not a married man. 

“ What! you have not got a wife ?” 

“No; how could I travel if I had one?” 

“ Why, you might leave her behind and lock her up, as our 
merchants do with their wives when they go on a journey.” 

“ In my country the women are never locked up.” 

“ What a marvel!” said the man; “ and how can you trust 


244 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


them ? Is it not dangerous to expose them to so much temp¬ 
tation ? They are poor weak creatures, and easily led. But if 
one of them is unfaithful to her husband, what does he do ?” 

“ He goes to our moullah, whom we call a judge, and obtains 
a divorce, and marries some one else.” 

“ What! you mean to say he does not cut the woman’s 
throat ?” 

“ No; he would very likely be hanged himself if he did.” 

“ What a country !” said the host; “ we manage things bet¬ 
ter in Khiva.” 

The guide was much astonished on hearing the price of 
horses in England. “And what do the poor people do?” he 
inquired. 

“ Why, walk.” 

“ Walk ?” 

“Yes, walk”—this appearing to the man such an extraordi¬ 
nary statement that he could hardly credit it. 

Later on, I took out my breech-loader from its case, as the 
weapon had become very rusty during the march, and began to 
clean it. The host scrutinized the gun very carefully, and was 
delighted at the rapidity with which it could be loaded. 

“Ah!” he said, with a sigh, “if we had only been armed 
with some of your guns, the Russians would never have got 
here; the khan’s arms were useless in comparison.” With 
these words my host showed me his own gun, which had a 
barrel at least five feet long, and a rest to stick in the ground to 
steady the aim. “ It is a nice weapon too,” he added, “ though 
not like yours, for mine takes five minutes to load, and quite a 
minute to fire; indeed, before I can shoot once, the Russians 
with their rifles can can kill twenty men. Our khan has now 
no soldiers; the Russians will not let him have any.” 


ENTERING KHIVA. 


245 


CHAPTER XXXI. 

The Messenger.—Two Khivan Noblemen.—Minarets.—Orchards.—Mul¬ 
berry-trees. — Khiva. —The Fortifications. — The Market-place. — The 
Gallows.—How Murderers are put to Death.—The Muscovite Imagina¬ 
tion. — Capital Punishment rarely inflicted. — The Population. — The 
Schools. — Cupolas. — The Khivan’s House. — A Bath in Khiva. — The 
Bathing Establishment. — The Belt which contained my Gold.—The 
Moullah. — Captain Abbot. — “ The Winter killed the Dogs by Thou¬ 
sands.”—The Khan’s Treasurer.—“ They do not love you English Peo¬ 
ple.”—“Four Years ago we were quite as far off Russia as you are at 
the Present Time.” — Distinguished Foreigners.—Ink Frozen. — “The 
Russians have not such Things.” 

The next morning we encountered on the road the messen¬ 
ger whom I had dispatched with my letter to the khan. He 
was accompanied by two Khivan noblemen. One of them 
courteously saluted us; he then said that His Majesty had re¬ 
ceived my letter, and had sent him forward to escort me into 
the city, and to say that I was welcome to his capital. 

We were now fast nearing Khiva, which could be just dis¬ 
cerned in the distance, but was hidden, to a certain extent, from 
our view by a narrow belt of tall, graceful trees; however, 
some richly-painted minarets and high domes of colored tiles 
could be seen towering above the leafy groves. Orchards, sur¬ 
rounded by walls eight and ten feet high, continually met the 
gaze, and avenues of mulberry-trees studded the landscape in 
all directions. 

The two Khivans rode first; I followed, having put on my 
black fur pelisse instead of the sheep-skin garment, so as to 
present a more respectable appearance on entering the city. 
Nazar, who was mounted on the horse that stumbled, brought 
up the rear. He had desired the camel-driver to follow in the 
distance with the messenger and the caravan; my servant be¬ 
ing of opinion that the number of our animals was not suf¬ 
ficient to deeply impress the Khivans with my importance, 


246 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


and that on this occasion it was better to ride in without any 
caravan than with the small one I possessed. We now entered 
the city, which is of an oblong form, and surrounded by two 
walls: the outer one is about fifty feet high: its basement is 
constructed of baked bricks, the upper part being built of dried 
clay. This forms the first line of defense, and completely en¬ 
circles the town, which is about a quarter of a mile within the 
wall. Four high wooden gates, clamped with iron, barred the 
approach from the north, south, east, and west, while the walls 
themselves were in many places out of repair. 

The town itself is surrounded by a second wall, not quite 
so high as the one just described, and with a dry ditch, which 
is now half filled with ruined debris. The slope which leads 
from the wall to the trench had been used as a cemetery, and 
hundreds of sepulchres and tombs were scattered along some 
undulating ground just without the city. The space between 
the first and second walls is used as a market-place, where cat¬ 
tle, horses, sheep, and camels are sold, and where a number of 
carts were standing, filled with corn and grass. 

Here an ominous-looking cross-beam had been erected, tow¬ 
ering high above the heads of the people with its bare, gaunt 
poles. 

This was the gallows on which all people convicted of theft 
are executed; murderers being put to death in a different man¬ 
ner, having their throats cut from ear to ear in the same way 
that sheep are killed. 

This punishment is carried out by the side of a large hole in 
the ground, not far from the principal street in the centre of 
the town. But I must here remark that the many cruelties 
stated to have been perpetrated by the present khan previous 
to the capture of his city did not take place. Indeed, they 
only existed in the fertile Muscovite imagination, which was 
eager to find an excuse for the appropriation of a neighbor’s 
property. On the contrary, capital punishment was only in¬ 
flicted when the laws had been infringed; and there is no in¬ 
stance of the khan having arbitrarily put any one to death. 

The two walls above mentioned appear to have made up the 
defenses of the city, which was also armed with sixteen guns. 


POPULATION OF KHIVA. 


247 


These, however, proved practically useless against the Russians, 
as the garrison only fired solid shot, not being provided with 
shell. The khan seemed to have made no use whatever of the 
many inclosed gardens in the vicinity of the city during the 
Russian advance, as, if he had, and firmly contested each yard 
of soil, I much doubt whether the Tzar’s troops could have ever 
entered the city. 

It is difficult to estimate the population of an Oriental city 
by simply riding round its walls; so many houses are unin¬ 
habited, and others again are densely packed with inhabitants. 
However, I should say, as a mere guess, that there are about 
25,000 human beings within the walls of Khiva. The streets 
are broad and clean, while the houses belonging to the richer 
inhabitants are built of highly polished bricks and colored 
tiles, which lend a cheerful aspect to the otherwise somewhat 
sombre color of the surroundings. There are nine schools : 
the largest, which contains 130 pupils, was built by the father 
of the present khan. These buildings are all constructed with 
high, colored domes, and are ornamented with frescoes and ar¬ 
abesque work, the bright aspect of the cupolas first attracting 
the stranger’s attention on his nearing the city. 

Presently we rode through a bazaar similar to the one at 
Oogentch, thin rafters and straw uniting the tops of the houses 
in the street, and forming a sort of roof to protect the stall- 
keepers and their customers from the rays of a summer sun. 
We were followed by crowds of people; and as some of the 
more inquisitive approached too closely, the Khivans who ac¬ 
companied me, raising their whips in the air, freely belabored 
the shoulders of the multitude, thus securing a little space. 
After riding through a great number of streets, and taking the 
most circuitous course—probably in order to duly impress me 
with an idea of the importance of the town—we arrived before 
my companion’s house. Several servants ran forward and took 
hold of the horses. The Khivan dismounted, and, bowing ob¬ 
sequiously, led the way through a high door-way constructed 
of solid timber. We next entered a square open court, with 
carved stone pillars supporting a balcony which looked down 
upon a marble fountain, or basin, the general appearance of 


248 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


the court being that of a patio in some nobleman’s house in 
Cordova or Seville. A door of a similar construction to the 
one already described, though somewhat lower, gave access to 
a long, narrow room, a raised dais at each end being covered 
with handsome rugs. There were no windows, glass being a 
luxury which has only recently found its way to the capital; 
but the apartment received its light from an aperture at the 
side, which was slightly concealed by some trellis-work, and 
from a space left uncovered in the ceiling, which was adorned 
with arabesque figures. The two doors which led from the 
court were each of them handsomely carved, and in the middle 
of the room was a hearth filled with charcoal embers. My 
host, beckoning to me to take the post of honor by the fire, 
retired a few paces and folded his arms across his chest; then, 
assuming a deprecatory air, he asked my permission to sit down. 

Grapes, melons, and other fruit, fresh as on the day when 
first picked, were brought in on a large tray and laid at my 
feet, while the host himself, bringing in a Russian tea-pot and 
cup, poured out some of the boiling liquid and placed it by 
my side; I all this time being seated on a rug, with my legs 
crossed under me, in any thing but a comfortable position. 

He then inquired if I had any commands for him, as the 
khan had given an order that every thing I might require was 
instantly to be supplied. On my expressing a wish to have a 
bath, a servant was at once dispatched to give the necessary 
orders to the keeper of the establishment. In an hour’s time 
Nazar informed me that the bath was ready, and that we should 
have to ride there, as it was in a house in the centre of the 
town. The host now led the way, Nazar bringing up the rear, 
carrying some soap in one hand, and a hair-brush in the other, 
the latter a source of great astonishment to the Khivans, who, 
having no hair of their own, could not understand the use of 
such an article. 

The bathing establishment consisted of three large rooms 
with vaulted roofs. Several divans made of dried clay were 
arranged around the walls of the first apartment, and covered 
with rugs and cushions. On one of these sat the keeper of the 
bath. He at once arose, and, beckoning to me to sit down be- 


CAPTAIN ABBOTT, THE “ MEDICINE-MAN.” 249 

side him, produced a pipe. There is an old saying that when 
you are in Rome you must do as Rome does. I took two or 
three whiffs, and was nearly choked in consequence. Some 
sherbet was now poured out, and an attendant helped me to 
undress, when feeling the belt which contained all my gold, he 
asked what it was. It is no use showing Asiatics that you sus¬ 
pect them of possible dishonesty, and the result of my experi¬ 
ence has been to prove that you can do more by apparently 
confiding in them than by any other method. I merely re¬ 
marked, “ Moneyand, asking him to take care of it while I 
went into the hot room, I gave him the belt. The man bowed 
down, and, pointing to his head, conveyed to ray mind that his 
life would answer for the money. He then led the way into a 
second apartment. Here there was a charcoal furnace, and on 
the fire a quantity of large stones which were at a white-lieat. 
He threw three or four pailfuls of cold w r ater on the stones: 
the liquid was in an instant converted into steam, and volumes 
of dense vapor filled the apartment. Hotter and hotter it 
grew, the atmosphere being so thick that the attendant was in¬ 
visible. After steaming for about half an hour, he came to my 
side, and led me to a large reservoir filled with water and float¬ 
ing ice; when, seizing a bucket, he soused me from head to 
foot. The process was over, there being no shampooing or 
bone-kneading, as in similar establishments in Turkey, and I 
was conducted back to the dressing-room. 

Here many of the principal inhabitants had assembled, in 
order to have a look at the stranger who, although a Christian, 
still liked washing. One of them, an old moullah, could speak 
a little Arabic, having twice performed the pilgrimage to Mec¬ 
ca. He remembered Captain Abbott’s visit to Khiva, forty 
years ago, and was under the impression that I, like that officer, 
had come to the Khivan capital from India and Herat. 

“ He was such a nice gentleman !” observed the moullah, al¬ 
luding to Abbott. “ He was a medicine-man too, and cured 
several sick people. We heard afterward that he had been 
killed by the Russians. Was that the case?” And on being 
informed that Captain Abbott had returned in safety to En¬ 
gland, the old man gave praise to God. 

11 * 


250 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


“ Your compatriot was with us about the time that the Rus- 
sians were attempting to reach Khiva,” continued the moullah; 
“ and people here then thought that an army from Hindoostan 
was coming to help us; but we did not require any assistance: 
the winter killed the dogs by thousands. Praise he to God!” 
And this expression, which is the same in Tartar as in Arabic, 
was devoutly repeated by the rest of the company. 

“ How did the Russians succeed in taking Khiva ?” I in¬ 
quired. 

“ They came in the summer. Allah did not fight for us.” 

“ It has been said,” I remarked, “ that your people had poi¬ 
soned some of the wells in the desert. Was this the case?” 

The old man turned red with indignation. 

‘‘Poison the wells which God has given us!” he said; “no, 
never; for that would be a sin in his eyes.” 

Nazar by this time had returned with the horses; so, shak¬ 
ing hands with the principal people, who arose at my depart¬ 
ure, I rode away, followed by the blessings of the old priest. 
The latter, from the fact of my speaking Arabic, looking upon 
me as not quite a Mohammedan, but as certainly a very distin¬ 
guished moullah in my own country. 

Later on in the afternoon I received a visit from no less a 
person than the khan’s treasurer. He was a tall, fat man, of 
about forty years of age, and with a forbidding expression on 
his countenance. He was extremely anxious to learn my busi¬ 
ness, and to know if I had been sent to Khiva by my Govern¬ 
ment, and was much surprised that the Russians had not stop¬ 
ped me on the route. 

“ You have not been to Fort Petro-Alexandrovsk ?” he ob¬ 
served. 

“ No,” I replied. 

“ Ah! that accounts for it,” he continued, with a sarcastic 
laugh. “They do not much love you English people, though, 
by all accounts, you are now on speaking terms, and not at war.” 

“Do you think this state of things will last long?” I in¬ 
quired. 

The man grinned, and, stretching out his arm, pointed east¬ 
ward. 


DISTINGUISHED FOREIGNERS. 


251 


“They are pushing onward,” he added. “You will have an 
opportunity of shaking hands with your friends before long. 
Four years ago we were quite as far from Russia as you are at 
the present time ; and you have not many white men in India.” 

“Quite sufficient to give Russia a good beating,” I remark¬ 
ed ; when, asking at what time it would be convenient for me 
to pay my respects to the khan, the following afternoon was 
fixed for an audience, and the treasurer left me. 

A succession of visitors came pouring in during the evening, 
the arrival of an Englishman in Khiva being looked upon as 
an extraordinary occurrence. I have often pitied distinguished 
foreigners who, when visiting London, are taken, among other 
sights, to the Zoological Gardens on a Sunday—the habitues of 
the Gardens staring at the unfortunate stranger as if he were a 
choice specimen of the gorilla or chimpanzee which has been 
imported from some recently discovered region. The lions and 
monkeys are deserted for the new arrival, and his every gesture 
is scanned as if he were not made of flesh, blood, and bone, like 
an ordinary mortal, and had nothing in common with the rest 
of humanity. This was my own position. My manner of eat¬ 
ing with a knife and fork much astonished some of the visitors, 
and one of them, coming up, tried to imitate the proceeding, 
the consequence being that he ran the fork into his cheek, to 
the great amusement of the rest of the party. 

Nazar and the guide did not at all object to this intrusion 
on my privacy. 

“ It is their custom,” said my little Tartar, at the same time 
expectorating on the floor; “ they are poor barbarous people, 
and do not know any better. They want to honor you,” he 
added, “ and this is their way of doing it. If you were a Rus¬ 
sian, there would not be half so much curiosity displayed.” 

The evening wore on, and, taking an inkstand out of my 
writing-case, I tried to write a letter. However, this proved a 
difficult task, as the ink, which was frozen into a solid lump, 
had smashed the bottle. The cold still remained as great as 
ever; though now it was impossible for me to register it, ow¬ 
ing to my thermometer having been broken during the jour¬ 
ney. The small charcoal hearth in my room gave out but lit- 


252 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


tie warmth, and the draught through the apertures in the roof 
and walls was so great that it was impossible to undress. There 
was nothing for it but to wrap myself in my fur pelisse, and, 
thus attired, lie down on my air mattress; the latter a source 
of the greatest astonishment to the Khivans, who were delight¬ 
ed when I explained how it could be used on an emergency as 
a raft. “ We could cross the Amu on it,” observed one of 
them. “And it is light and soft,” added another, lifting it up 
between his finger and thumb. “ The Russians have not such 
things,” chimed in a third, who had once been inside Fort Pe- 
tro-Alexandrovsk. 


decorations. 


253 


CHAPTER XXXII. 

Breakfast in Khiva.—Decorations or Orders.—How to obtain them in Rus¬ 
sia.—The Procession through the Streets.—The Band.—The Khan’s Pal¬ 
ace.—His Guards.—Effeminate Boys dressed a Little like Women.—The 
Treasury.—Khivan Tribute to the Tzar.—The Executioner.—Nazar’s 
Trepidation.—The Reception Hall.—The Audience.—The Khan.—His 
Description.—Tea.—The Interpreters.—England, “How Far is it from 
Russia?”—Englishmen and Germans.—Wyld’s Map.—“Where is In¬ 
dia ?”—A Compass.—An Infernal Machine.—Afghanistan.—China.— 
War with Russia.—“ The Russians laughed at you.”—“What shall you 
do about Kashgar?”—“Are there Jews in your Country?”—“The Rus¬ 
sians love Money very much.”—“ Hum !” 

In the morning my host again appeared, accompanied by 
several servants bearing sweetmeats and fruits, the invariable 
preludes to a breakfast at Khiva, while a frozen block of milk 
was also sent me, and some butter which was as hard as a bill¬ 
iard-ball. Nazar was all this time engaged in brushing a black 
shooting-jacket, the only garment I possessed except my reg¬ 
ular riding attire. However, I had brought one white shirt, 
thinking that I might possibly have an interview with some 
Central Asian magnate or other, and, greatly to my surprise, 
the article in question was not much the worse for the journey. 

While these preparations were going on, the host kept ply¬ 
ing Nazar with questions as to my tchin (rank), and as to wheth¬ 
er I had any orders or not, the Russian officers who had visited 
Khiva having been covered with decorations, a successful review 
or parade at St. Petersburg often enabling an officer to obtain 
an order which, with us, would only be given for services in the 
field. Indeed, I remember once seeing a Russian official with 
his breast so covered with decorations, that, struck with aston¬ 
ishment, I asked in what sanguinary actions he had distinguish¬ 
ed himself. The man whom I addressed smiled. “ He has 
never been under fire,” was the reply, “ but he is useful to the 


254 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


State, as, through his agents, he knows every thing that goes 
on in Russia.” 

“You have no orders?” inquired Nazar. 

“ No.” 

“Well, I have told them that you have a great many, hut 
that you have not brought them with you for fear of their be¬ 
ing stolen. If I could only tie a few pieces of ribbon on your 
coat it would look so well — the people, too, would think so 
much more of me;” and my little Tartar servant swelled out 
his chest, as much as to say, “ I am a person of considerable 
importance, though you do not seem to see it.” 

I was a good deal annoyed with Nazar for having thus im¬ 
posed upon my host, and instantly desired him to state that in 
my country officers only received decorations for real services, 
consequently there were not so many worn as in the Russian 
army; while as to my rank, I was a captain, and traveling at 
my own expense and for my own pleasure, and not in any way 
as an agent of the British Government. 

In the afternoon two officials arrived from the khan’s palace, 
with an escort of six men on horseback and four on foot. The 
elder of the two dignitaries said that His Majesty was waiting 
to receive me, and my horse being brought round, I mounted, 
and accompanied him toward the palace. The six men on 
horseback led the way, then I came between the two officials, 
and Nazar brought up the rear with some attendants on foot, 
who freely lashed the crowd with their whips whenever any of 
the spectators approached our horses too closely. 

The news that the khan was about to receive me had spread 
rapidly through the town, and the streets were lined with cu¬ 
rious individuals all eager to see the Englishman. Perhaps in 
no part of the world is India more talked of than in the Cen¬ 
tral Asian khanates ; and the stories of our wealth and power, 
which have reached Khiva through Afghan and Bokharan 
sources, have grown like a snow-ball in its onward course, 
until the riches described in the garden discovered by Alad¬ 
din would pale if compared with the fabled treasures of Hin- 
doostan. 

After riding through several narrow streets, where, in some 


THE KHAN’S PALACE. 


255 


instances, the house-tops were thronged with people desirous of 
looking at our procession, we emerged on a small, flat piece of 
ground which was not built over, and which formed a sort of 
open square. Here a deep hole was pointed out to me as the 
spot where criminals who have been found guilty of murder 
bad their throats cut from ear to ear. 

The khan’s palace is a large building, ornamented with pil¬ 
lars and domes, which, covered with bright-colored tiles, flash in 
the sun, and attract the attention of the stranger approaching 
Khiva. A guard of thirty or forty men armed with cimeters 
stood at the palace gates. We next passed into a small court¬ 
yard. The khan’s guards were all attired in long flowing silk 
robes of various patterns, bright-colored sashes being girt 
around their waists, and tall fur hats surmounting their bronzed 
countenances. The court-yard was surrounded by a low pile 
of buildings, which are the offices of the palace, and was filled 
with attendants and menials of the court, while good-looking 
boys of an effeminate appearance, with long hair streaming 
down their shoulders, and dressed a little like the women, 
lounged about, and seemed to have nothing in particular to do. 

A door at the farther end of the court gave access to a low 
passage, and, after passing through some dirty corridors, where 
I had occasionally to stoop in order to avoid knocking my head 
against the ceiling, we came to a large, square-shaped room. 
Here the treasurer was seated, with three moullahs, who were 
squatted by his side, while several attendants crouched in hum¬ 
ble attitudes at the opposite end of the apartment. The treas¬ 
urer and his companions were busily engaged in counting some 
rolls of ruble-notes and a heap of silver coin, which had been 
received from the khan’s subjects, and were now to be sent 
to Petro-Alexandrovsk as part of the tribute to the Tzar. 

The great man now made a sign to some of his attendants, 
when a large wooden box, bearing signs of having been manu¬ 
factured in Russia, was pushed a little from the wall and offer¬ 
ed to me as a seat. Nazar was accommodated among the de¬ 
pendents at the other end of the room. After the usual 
salaams had been made, the functionary continued his task, 
leaving me in ignorance as to what was to be the next part of 

3 c? * 


256 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


the programme; Nazar squatting himself as far as possible 
from one of the attendants, who was armed with a cimeter, and 
whom he suspected of being the executioner. 

After I had been kept waiting for about a quarter of an 
hour, a messenger entered the room and informed the treasurer 
that the khan was disengaged, and ready to receive me. We 
now entered a long corridor, which led to an inner court-yard. 
Here we found the reception-hall, a large tent, or kibitka, of a 
dome-like shape. The treasurer, lifting up a fold of thick 
cloth, motioned to me to enter, and on doing so I found my¬ 
self face to face with the celebrated khan, who was reclining 
against some pillows or cushions, and seated on a handsome 
Persian rug, warming his feet by a circular hearth filled with 
burning charcoal. He raised his hand to his forehead as I 
stood before him, a salute which I returned by touching my 
cap. He then made a sign for me to sit down by his side. 

Before I relate our conversation, it may not be uninteresting 
if I describe the sovereign. He is taller than the average of 
his subjects, being quite five feet ten in height, and is strongly 
built: his face is of a broad, massive type, he has a low, square 
forehead, large dark eyes, a short straight nose with dilated 
nostrils, and a coal-black beard and mustache; while an enor¬ 
mous mouth, with irregular but white teeth, and a chin some¬ 
what concealed by his beard, and not at all in character with 
the otherwise determined appearance of his face, must com¬ 
plete the picture. 

He did not look more than eight - and - twenty, and has a 
pleasant, genial smile, and a merry twinkle in his eye, very un¬ 
usual among Orientals; in fact, to me an expression in Span¬ 
ish would better describe his face than any English one I can 
think of. It is very simpatica , and I must say I was greatly 
surprised, after all that has been written in Russian newspa¬ 
pers about the cruelties and other iniquities perpetrated by 
this Khivan potentate, to find the original such a cheery sort 
of fellow. 

His countenance was of a very different type from his treas¬ 
urer’s. The hang-dog expression of the latter made me bilious 
to look at him, and it was said that he carried to great lengths 


MY RECEPTION BY THE KHAN. 


257 


those peculiar vices and depraved habits to which Orientals are 
so often addicted. The khan was dressed in a similar sort of 
costume to that generally worn by his subjects, but it was 
made of much richer materials, and a jeweled sword was lying 
by his seat. His head was covered by a tall black Astrakhan 
hat, of a sugar-loaf shape; and on my seeing that all the offi¬ 
cials who were in the room at the same time as myself kept on 
their fur hats, I did the same. 

The sovereign, turning to an attendant, gave an order in a 
low tone, when tea was instantly brought, and handed to me in 
a small porcelain tea-cup. A conversation with the khan was 
now commenced, and carried on through Nazar and a Kirghiz 
interpreter who spoke Russian, and occasionally by means of a 
moullah, who was acquainted with Arabic, and had spent some 
time in Egypt. The khan, when he wished to say any thing 
which was not intended for the ears of the other attendants, 
murmured his questions to this official, who would then trans¬ 
late them to me. 

The first question asked was how far England is from Rus¬ 
sia, and whether Englishmen and Germans are of the same na¬ 
tion ? thus showing rather a deficiency in geographical knowl¬ 
edge. Fortunately I had Wyld’s map of the countries lying 
between England and India in my pocket, and producing it, I 
unfolded the map before him. 

He at once asked where India was. 

I pointed to it. 

“No,” he said, “India is there,” pointing to the south-east. 

He was seated facing the south, and could not understand 
that it was necessary to read the map to the reverse hand. 

As I was not quite certain where the north was, I desired 
Nazar to give me my compass, which he wore round his neck. 
When he handed it to me I observed the countenances of the 
khan’s followers assume an expression of alarm, and they look¬ 
ed as if they thought that it was an infernal machine and might 
go off. However, the sovereign himself instantly recognized 
the use of the instrument, and said that he had two which had 
been given him some time previous by a traveler. 

I now adjusted the map to the north, and showed him all 


258 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


tlie different places he mentioned, at the same time pointing 
with my finger to the direction in which he would have to ride 
if he should wish to visit them. 

He was under the impression that Afghanistan belonged to 
England, and was greatly struck with the size of India, and the 
small space that Great Britain takes up on the map. “ China, 
where the tea comes from, belongs to you also ?” he inquired, 
evidently thinking that England has the same relations with 
the Celestial Empire as Russia with Kokan. 

The khan then putting his hand on Hindoostan on the map, 
observed that India was large, but not so large as Russia, which 
required nearly two hands to cover it. 

I here remarked that extent of territory does not make up 
the strength of a nation, and that India contained nearly three 
times as many inhabitants as were in the whole of the Russian 
Empire; while Her Majesty ruled over such a large extent of 
territory which was not shown in the map, that the sun never 
sets throughout her dominions. 

He then asked if it were true that the son of our queen had 
lately married the daughter of the Tzar, as the Russians had 
told him so, and said that it was a proof of the friendship 
which existed between England and Russia, and of the inter¬ 
ests they had in common, which would eventually lead to the 
two empires touching in the East. 

He was also very anxious to know whether Englishmen loved 
the Russians as much as the Russians said they did; “ for if I 
am to believe what I hear from other sources,” he continued, 
“ the more particularly through the Bokharans, there is not 
much love lost between the two countries, and the people in 
India are not at all eager to have their dear friends as such 
near neighbors.” 

He then said, “ \ ou had a war with Russia some years ago, 
and were the allies of the Sultan. This made a great stir in 
Central Asia, and we w’ere very glad to hear the news, as w r e 
thought you would defend us in the same manner if we were 
attacked. There was another khan, however, who helped you 
at that time, and from all accounts you took some Russian ter¬ 
ritory. Now,” continued the speaker, “ I want to know if it is 


“why DID NOT ENGLAND HELP ME?” 259 

true that the khan who was your friend at that time has been 
since defeated by another power, and that the Russians then 
laughed at you, and said that you were weak and could not 
fight without your friend, after which they retook all the coun¬ 
try they had previously lost.” 

To this I replied that there had been no territory taken, and 
that as to our fearing Russia, or any other power, this was a 
statement as ridiculous as false; that England had beaten Rus¬ 
sia before, and could easily do so again; but that we were a 
peaceable nation, and never wished to interfere with our neigh¬ 
bors so long as they did not interfere Avith us. 

“ That is all very well,” said the khan; and after being si¬ 
lent for a few seconds, he suddenly observed, “ Why did not 
England help me Avhen I sent a mission to Lord North- 
brooke ?” 

To this I replied that, being only a traveler, and not in the 
secrets of the Government, I could not possibly knoAv all that 
passed in the political world. 

“Well,” observed the sovereign, “the Russians will now ad¬ 
vance to Kashgar, then to Bokhara and Balkh, and so on to 
Merve and Herat: you will have to fight some day, whether 
your government likes it or not. I am informed that India is 
very rich,” he added, “and that Russia has got plenty of sol¬ 
diers, but little Avith which to pay them. I am paying for 
some of them now,” he continued, looking with a sad smile at 
his treasurer. 

The khan next said, “ We Mohammedans used to think that 
England was our friend because she helped the Sultan; but you 
have let the Russians take Tashkent, conquer me, and make her 
Avay into Kokan. What shall you do about Kashgar ?” he sud¬ 
denly inquired ; “shall you defend Kashgar or not?” 

Here I remarked that I was very sorry the Russians had been 
allowed to get to Khiva, as this might easily have been pre¬ 
vented, but that I could not give him an ansAver, as I was utter¬ 
ly ignorant of the policy of the Government. 

“You do not have a khan,” he asked, “at the head of af¬ 
fairs ?” 

“ No,” I replied, “ a queen; and Her Majesty is advised as 


200 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


to her policy by her ministers, who for the time being are sup¬ 
posed to represent the opinion of the country.” 

“And does that opinion change?” he inquired. 

“Very frequently,” I resumed; “and since your country 
was conquered we have had a fresh government, whose policy 
is diametrically opposite to that held by the previous one; and 
in a few years’ time we shall have another change, for in our 
country, as the people advance in knowledge and wealth, they 
require fresh laws and privileges. The result of this is, they 
choose a different set of people to represent them: the sover¬ 
eign, however, remains always immutable, and she can make no 
mistake, all the responsibility of government resting with the 
ministry, who, in their turn, are selected from the majority of 
the representatives.” 

“Can your queen have a subject’s head cut off?” asked the 
khan. 

“No, not without a trial before our judges—they answer to 
your moullahs; and then if the prisoner has committed mur¬ 
der, he is nearly sure to be sentenced to death, and hanged.” 

“ Then she never has their throats cut ?” 

“ No.” 

“ Hindoostan is a very wonderful country,” continued the 
khan. “The envoy I sent there a few years ago has told me 
of your railroads and telegraphs; but the Russians have rail¬ 
roads too.” 

“ Yes,” I replied; “ we lent them money, and our engineers 
have helped to make them.” 

“ Do the Russians pay you for this ?” he inquired. 

“Yes; so far they have behaved very honorably.” 

“Are there not Jews in your country, like some of the Jews 
at Bokhara?” 

“ One of the richest men in England is a Jew.” 

“ The Russians do not take away the money from the 
Jews ?” 

“ No.” 

The khan here said a few words to his treasurer, and then 
remarked, “ Why do they take money from me, then ? The 
Russians love money very much.” As he said this he shook 


GOOD-BYE TO THE KHAN. 


261 


his head sorrowfully at the treasurer, and the latter, assuming 
a most mournful expression, ejaculated, “Hum!” purring out 
this monosyllable in a doleful strain ; the word “ hum ” having 
been constantly used during our conversation both by the sov¬ 
ereign and his nobles. 

The khan now by a low bow made me aware that the inter¬ 
view was over. 

“I have given orders for you to be shown every thing you 
may wish to see in my city,” he observed; when, saying good¬ 
bye, and thanking him for his kindness, I returned to my quar¬ 
ters. The people bowed down before the cortege as we rode 
back through the streets, for the news had spread that my re¬ 
ception had been a very gracious one. 


262 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


CHAPTER XXXIII. 

The Present Khan.—The Law of Succession.—The Turkomans and their 
Tribute.—The Royal Gardens.—A Summer Palace.—How the Sovereign 
administers Justice. — God’s Vengeance. — The Prison. — The Prison¬ 
ers.—The Stocks.—The Schools.—The Moullahs.—Reading, Writing, 
and the* Koran.—How School-masters are remunerated for their Trou¬ 
ble.—Preparations for a Start to Bokhara.— L'homme propose, mais Dieu 
dispose .—A Letter.—It must have cost a Large Sum of Money sending 
that Telegram.—General Milutin.—Count Schouvaloif’s Brother.—The 
Bazaar.—A Strict Order.—A Nose-ring.—The Unclean Animal.—A Pres¬ 
ent from the Khan.—His Invitation to Englishmen.—His Hospitality. 

The present kban is the eleventh in succession of the same 
family. He commenced his reign ten years ago, at the death 
of the previous sovereign, the khanate descending from father 
to son, and not to the eldest male relative, as is the case amidst 
some other Mohammedan nations. The monarch receives the 
crown-lands and gardens intact. With the rest of the nation, 
the property at a father’s death is divided equally among his 
sons, thus doing away with the possibility of any one possess¬ 
ing a large extent of the soil. 

The actual khan, after paying his annual tribute to the Tzar, 
has 100,000 rubles, or about £ 14 , 000 , a year left for himself. 
He has no army to maintain, and some of the Turkoman tribes 
are recommencing to pay him taxes. This they do for fear 
lest otherwise it might be made a pretext for a Russian advance 
into their country. 

The following day I rode out to visit the sovereign’s gar¬ 
dens, which are about three versts from the town. He has 
five: each of them is from four to five acres in extent: they 
are surrounded by high walls, built of dried clay, with solid 
buttresses at the corners. Two large wooden gates at the en¬ 
trance of the inclosure were opened by the gardener, a little 
swarthy man, clad in a dressing-gown of many colors, and with 
a long iron hoe on his shoulder. I was accompanied by the son 


HOW THE KHAN ADMINISTERS JUSTICE. 


263 


of my host and Nazar, when, the former saying that I had the 
khan’s permission, the gardener stepped aside and allowed us 
to enter. 

The garden was remarkably well kept, and the horticultural 
arrangements much better than I expected to find so far from 
Europe. Here were to be seen long avenues of fruit-trees, 
carefully cut and trimmed; there men were engaged in pre¬ 
paring the soil, which would be thickly studded with melons 
in the ensuing spring. Apple, pear, and cherry trees abounded, 
while in the centre of the ground high scaffoldings, covered 
with trellis-work, showed where, in summer, the vines are train¬ 
ed. Under their grateful shade, cool walks are formed to pro¬ 
tect the khan and his ladies from the burning sun. 

He has a small summer palace in this garden, to which he re¬ 
sorts, and where he holds his court in June and July. Trenches 
for the purpose of irrigation are cut in all directions about the 
grounds, while frequent mulberry-trees, terminating in thick 
clusters of the same, are interspersed throughout the garden. 

The scene must be a striking one when the khan, surround¬ 
ed by his court and officers of state, administers justice; for 
this takes place in the open, on a raised stone dais, which is 
ascended by a low flight of steps. There the delinquents are 
brought; and if they do not at once confess their guilt to 
their lord and master, he orders them to be taken to the 
moullah, a learned man, whose business it is to investigate all 
such matters. The latter produces a copy of the Koran, and 
desires the suspected individual to swear his innocence; if this 
is done, and there are no eye-witnesses to prove the man’s 
guilt, he is allowed to go free. Should he perjure himself, the 
Khivans believe that the vengeance of Allah will speedily over¬ 
take him, and that the retribution will then be much greater 
than any punishment which man’s justice could inflict. 

“ But,” I inquired, “ are there never some wretches among 
you who will risk the wrath of Allah, and, perjuring them¬ 
selves, be released to commit other crimes?” 

“ No,” was the answer. “ The fear of God’s vengeance is 
happily too great to admit of such wickedness.” 

“ But supposing that there are witnesses who can prove that 


264 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


the person committed the crime, and he still denies it. What 
do you do then ?” 

“ Why, we beat him with rods, put salt in his mouth, and 
expose him to the burning rays of the sun, until at last he con¬ 
fesses, and then is punished for his breach of the law.” 

After riding through the gardens which lie on the southern 
side of the city, and are on the road to Merve, we returned 
to Khiva, and visited the prison—a low building on the left 
of the court, which forms the entrance to the khan’s palace. 
Here I found two prisoners, their feet fastened in wooden 
stocks, while heavy iron chains encircled their necks and bod¬ 
ies. They were accused of having assaulted a woman, and two 
females were witnesses of the act; but as the prisoners would 
not confess, they were to be kept in confinement till they ac¬ 
knowledged their guilt. 

On leaving the jail, I rode to the principal school, and found 
it a series of little low rooms or open niches, which inclosed a 
court-yard. A large fountain or basin for water had been con¬ 
structed in the centre of the open space, the corners of the 
court being surmounted by some high domes and minarets of 
colored tiles similar to those in the khan’s palace. A moullah 
superintends each school, and under his supervision there is a 
staff of other teachers. The subjects taught are reading, writ¬ 
ing, and the Koran, pages of which are committed to memory 
by the pupils. The teacher squats beside the hearth in the 
middle of the room, while the boys sit around him, and learn 
from his lips verses of their Scripture. The parents pay for 
their children’s tuition in corn, a certain number of measures 
being given to the instructor in return for his labors. A crowd 
followed us about, and some of the people w r ere much surprised, 
seeing that I wrote from left to right, instead of from right to 
left, as I jotted down my notes in a pocket-book. 

A succession of visitors awaited us on returning to our quar¬ 
ters, several moullahs who had been to Egypt and Mecca call¬ 
ing to pay their respects to the Englishman, who, like them¬ 
selves, spoke Arabic. 

In the mean time Nazar was making preparations for a start 
to Bokhara. Bread had been ordered, or rather a peculiar sort 


COMPELLED TO RETRACE MY STEPS. 


2G5 


of little round cake, which substitutes the so-called staff of life 
at Khiva. The guide had promised to accompany us, and the 
camel-driver was thoroughly prepared to accompany me to the 
end of the world so long as I gave him plenty to eat. I deter¬ 
mined to remain one day longer, and then leave for Bokhara. 
This would be a twelve days’ march from Khiva. From Bo¬ 
khara I could go on to Merve and Meshed, where we should be 
in Persian territory. 

I should much have liked to have remained some days longer 
at Khiva, but time was important. It was the 27th of Janua¬ 
ry, and I was obliged to be back with my regiment on the 14th 
of April. However, L'komme propose , mais Dieu dispose ; and 
the truth of this celebrated old French saying was prominently 
brought before me the next morning, for, on returning from an 
early ride through the market, where a great sale of camels and 
horses was taking place, I found two strangers in my apartment. 
One of them, producing a letter, handed it to me, saying that 
he had been sent to Khiva by order of the commandant at Pe- 
tro-Alexandrovsk. 

On opening the inclosure, I found a letter written in Russian 
on one side of the paper, and in French on the other. 

Its contents were to the following effect: that the colonel 
had received a telegram, via Tashkent, and that I must go to 
the fort to receive the communication. 

I was greatly surprised to find that any one took so much 
interest in me as to dispatch a telegram so many thousand 
miles, and put himself to the expense of having the message 
forwarded from Tashkent, where the telegraph ends, to Khiva, 
a distance of nine hundred miles, by couriers with relays of 
horses. It must have cost a large sum of money sending that 
telegram, and I began to be a little alarmed, thinking that per¬ 
haps I should be asked to pay for it. 

Again, what could have occurred of such great importance 
as to induce any one to telegraph ? Could it be that General 
Milutin, the Russian Minister of War, had just remembered 
that I had called four times at his house, and that he had not 
been able to give me an interview, but that he was now pre¬ 
pared to grant one ? 


12 


266 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


There was another solution which might also have been cor¬ 
rect, and the thought suddenly occurred to me that perhaps 
Count SchouvalofFs brother, to whom the thoughtful embassa¬ 
dor in London had so kindly given me a letter of recommenda¬ 
tion, had by this time arrived at St. Petersburg, and wished to 
show me some hospitality. 

Anyhow, there was the letter, and I must go to Petro-Alexan- 
drovsk to receive the telegram. It was not a pleasant thought 
after having gone so far, to have possibly to return to Europe¬ 
an Russia over the snow-covered steppes. It is a hard journey 
even for the Tartars, this fourteen days’ march, with the cold 
at 20° and 30° degrees below zero, and no shelter to be met 
with on the road. The Tartar and Khivan merchants occasion¬ 
ally, it is true, make the journey in midwinter, but invariably 
wait till the spring for their return to Orenburg. 

I had accomplished the really hard part of my journey, and 
every degree marched in the direction of Merve would have led 
me to a warmer clime. However, there was nothing to be done 
save to go to Petro-Alexandrovsk, and then, if the dispatch 
were of such a nature as to oblige me to return, to retrace my 
steps. 

The messenger who had brought the letter was eager for my 
immediate return to the fort; but this, I said, was out of the 
question till the next day, as I wished to make some purchases 
in the town, and must also pay a farewell visit to the khan pre¬ 
vious to my departure. 

A little later I rode to the bazaar, accompanied by Nazar and 
the guide, the latter not being at all pleased at our having to 
go to Petro - Alexandrovsk. He was very uneasy in his own 
mind about the consequences which might occur to him for 
having brought me to Khiva. 

One of the men sent with the commandant’s letter was now 
continually in our wake, and I subsequently learned that a strict 
order had been sent to the khan to have our party followed and 
taken to the fort, in the event of my having left the city. 

On arriving at the bazaar we were instantly surrounded by 
merchants, all eager to dispose of their wares. On selecting 
the most respectable-looking man I could see, he led me into a 


A NOSE-RING. 


267 


large room at the back of his shop. Here, after he had offered 
us some dried fruit and tea, as indispensable to a Khivan trades¬ 
man when bargaining with a customer as coffee to a shop-keep¬ 
er in Cairo, he proceeded to a large wooden box which stood in 
a corner of the apartment, and unlocked it with an enormous 
key which hung from his girdle, the key, as it turned in the 
lock, giving out a peculiar hissing sound, owing to some hidden 
mechanism in the interior. 

“ Do you want something for a young or for an old wom¬ 
an?” asked the merchant — Nazar having previously informed 
him that I wished to buy some female ornaments. 

“ If you want it for a young wife, look how beautiful this is 
—she would look lovely with itand he handed me a large 
gold ring, curiously set with small pearls and turquoises. 

“ This would be too large for her finger,” I remarked. 

“ Yes,” replied the man ; “ but not for her nose. This is for 
her nose.” 

“Lovely!” said the guide. “My brother-in-law’s wife has 
one its very counterpart; buy it.” 

“ Sir,” said Nazar, “ no girl could resist you if you offered 
her such a present.” 

The whole party were much surprised when I informed 
them that in England we only put rings in the noses of the 
unclean animal. 

The jewelry for sale was of a tawdry description; however, 
eventually I discovered a curiously worked gold ornament, with 
long pendants of coral and other stones. After a great deal of 
haggling Nazar succeeded in obtaining it for me at one-tliird 
of the price originally asked; the Khivan jewelers having very 
elastic consciences, in spite of the Prophet’s injunction that no 
true believer is to deceive the stranger within his gates. 

On returning to my quarters, I found the treasurer awaiting 
my arrival. He had heard the news of my enforced departure, 
and came to know at what time it would be convenient for me 
to pay my respects and say farewell to the khan. Shortly aft¬ 
erward I rode with him to the palace, w r hen he first led the way 
to the treasury, and there presenting me with a dressing-gown, 
said that his majesty had been pleased to beg my acceptance of 


268 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


this garment. It was a long robe, made of black clotb, reach¬ 
ing to the knees, and lined inside with silk and bright-colored 
chintzes. Indeed, as I was afterward informed, this is the high¬ 
est honor that can be paid a stranger; and a halat, or dressing- 
gown, from the khan is looked upon at Khiva much as the Or¬ 
der of the Garter would be in England. 

The sovereign expressed his annoyance that I had to leave 
his capital so suddenly. He then remarked, 

“You will come back again, I trust; and pray tell all En¬ 
glishmen whom you may meet that I have heard from the en¬ 
voy I sent to India of the greatness of their nation, and only 
hope that before long I shall see some of them in my capital.” 

He was very kind in his manner, and shook hands warmly 
when I took my leave; the impression being left on my mind 
that the Khan of Khiva is the least bigoted of all the Moham¬ 
medans whose acquaintance I have made in the course of my 
travels, and that the stories of his cruelties to Russian prison¬ 
ers, previous to the capture of his city, are pure inventions 
which have been disseminated by the Russian press in order to 
try and justify the annexation of his territory. 

Before leaving my quarters I endeavored to persuade my 
host to accept a present in lieu of the handsome treatment my 
party and myself had received at his hands. However, this 
was a fruitless task ; the Khivan at once declined, saying that 
I was the khan’s guest, and that his majesty would be very an¬ 
gry if he were to learn that I had tried to requite his hospitali¬ 
ty by giving a present to his servant. Indeed, when I made it 
a personal matter my attempt was equally fruitless, and I left 
the city slightly pained at not being able to leave behind some 
token or other to show how much I appreciated his kindness 
during my stay at Khiva. 


LITTLE NAZAR. 


269 


CHAPTER XXXIY. 

Departure from Khiva.—The Khan’s Brother.—His Rumored Intention of 
visiting St. Petersburg.—Villages.—Goryin.—The Governor of Anca.— 
Lord Northbrooke.—Herat.—Lahore.—Lucknow.—Calcutta.—Our Sol¬ 
diers in India.—The Cossacks.—Indian Teas.—An Effeminate-looking 
Boy.—Partiality of some Russian Officers to these Appendages of East¬ 
ern Courts.—The Amu Darya.—Lager.—Three Squadrons picketed out 
in the Open.—The Telegram from H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge.— 
Colonel Ivanoff.—Misunderstanding between Major Wood and Colonel 
Ivanoff. — Atmosphere of Central Asia, and the Colonel’s Memory. — 
Letter to General Kolpakovsky. — Dinner at Ivanoff’s. — Russia and 
England.—Merve.—If taken, a Strong Fort would be built there.—Roads 
to Merve.—The Khivans are Quiet People.—Court-martial upon the Tur¬ 
komans.—Turkistan a Source of Loss to the Exchequer.—Troops at Pe- 
tro-Alexandrovsk.—Ivanoff would shortly receive his Promotion.—The 
Russki Mir (Russian World). —Article on the Large Number of German 
Officers in the Russian Army.—Marked Antipathy to the Germans.—The 
New Military System in a Transitory State. — Contempt expressed for 
Austria.—The Ladies at Petro-Alexandrovsk. 

We left the city by its eastern gate, and presently passed by 
a building constructed with some regard to taste, and surround¬ 
ed by a number of large gardens, all separated from each other 
by low walls. The house belonged to the sovereign’s brother, 
who, it was said, had the intention of visiting St. Petersburg, so 
as personally to ask the Tzar to withdraw his troops from the 
khan’s dominions. 

It was a glorious, bright morning, and one calculated to raise 
the spirits of myself and party, now very much depressed at 
hearing that possibly we should have to return to Fort Number 
One. Little Nazar in particular lamented the idea of a return 
to the snow-covered steppes, where there was nothing to eat, 
and said that he had been obliged to take in his leather belt 
three holes, and that he was only just beginning to fill it out 
again. 

The guide, too, dreaded the rod that might be in pickle for 


270 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


him at Petro-Alexandrovsk; and I myself was suffering from a 
bilious attack, brought on either by eating melons, or by the 
letter of the Russian commandant — bad news affecting one’s 
digestive organs, in my opinion, quite as much as any thing put 
into the stomach. 

The road was now quite uninclosed, and a large tract of fer¬ 
tile country extended on all sides as far as the eye could reach. 
Presently we passed a small village about twelve versts from 
Khiva; and twenty-four versts farther on, another village called 
Gory in, finally halting for the night at Anca. We had marched 
sixty versts, or forty miles, in six hours, our horses having gone 
all the time at a slow, steady trot, the camels not reaching our 
halting-place till eight hours afterward. 

Anca is a large town, and has a bazaar and market, which 
are famous throughout the district. We stopped at the house 
of the governor, a Khivan, who had been sent by the khan on a 
mission to Lord Northbrooke four years ago, just before the Rus- - 
sians invaded Khiva, and at the time when the khan thought that 
an alliance with England would prove beneficial to his country. 

The moment our host discovered that I was an Englishman, 
he squatted at my feet, and asked a hundred questions about 
India and the natives. He had heard of the Prince of Wales’s 
visit to those regions; and in order to explain to me his own 
route, and what towns he had passed through on his road to 
Calcutta, he cut an apple in pieces. Taking one seed, he placed 
it on the ground, with the remark, “ Khivathen for Herat 
he put down a second seed; while for Lahore and Lucknow he 
cut an apple into two pieces; and for Calcutta he put a large 
apple on the floor, endeavoring in this way to indicate to me 
his idea of the relative size and importance of the places which 
he had visited. 

The soldiers in India, in his opinion, were magnificent men, 
with splendid uniforms; as to the Russian soldiers, they were 
nothing in comparison; and he spat on the ground by way of 
showing his contempt for the Cossacks. 

“ But they have a great many more soldiers than you,” he 
remarked, “ and could afford to lose as many men as you have 
in India, and begin again with double the original force.” 


A KHIVAN’s OPINION OF RUSSIANS. 


271 


“ But the Russians like us,” I said. “ Their emperor is a 
man of peace; and many people in my country say that it will 
be a good thing for India when she has a civilized neighbor on 
our frontier, instead of the Afghans.” 

The Khivan’s face swelled with suppressed mirth, which he 
thought that it would be indecorous to give vent to; but check¬ 
ing his laughter as best he could, he merely said, 

“ If they like you so much, why do they prevent your goods 
coming here? Indian teas are either forbidden altogether, or 
have a prohibitory duty placed upon them; and I have often 
heard it said that if an Englishman were to go from India to 
Russia, he would be killed by the Russians, and that they would 
say we had done it, in order to stir up an ill-feeling against us.” 

Presently he left me, and sent his boy, an effeminate-looking 
lad, who appeared much surprised when I told him in rather 
gruff tones to return to his master. I was afterward informed 
by several Russian officers of their partiality to these append¬ 
ages of Eastern courts. Oriental habits have proved too much 
for the Tartar blood, which is so largely diffused throughout 
the Russian race; and where the victors should have set an 
example to the conquered, the latter have in many instances 
brought the victors down to their own level. Major Wood, in 
his book, “ The Sea of Aral,” devotes a note expressed in Latin 
to this subject, and I cordially agree with him in his remarks. 

We started early the next morning. We rode across the 
Amu Darya at a spot about thirteen miles from Anca, and 
where the stream was nearly two versts wide; the ice being in 
some places more than a foot thick. Presently we stopped by 
a Cossack cavalry station, called Lager. Here, in spite of the 
inclemency of the season, three squadrons were picketed out in 
the open, the horses having coats like bears, and looking ex¬ 
ceedingly well, notwithstanding their exposure to the extreme 
cold. 

We were now approaching Petro-Alexandrovsk, and a few 
dark spots on the distant horizon were pointed out to us as the 
recently erected fort. The emissary who had brought me the 
commandant’s letter spurred his horse forward, leaving his com¬ 
panion with my party and self. “ He has only gone on to say 


272 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


that you are coming,” was the reply to my inquiry, and a few 
minutes later we rode into Petro-Alexandrovsk. It has been 
built on the site of a house and garden which formerly be¬ 
longed to the uncle of the Khan of Khiva, the materials of his 
house having been used in constructing the wall which has been 
erected round the fort. 

The commandant’s house stood in a small open space in the 
centre of the inclosure, and a flag-staff at one end of the dwell¬ 
ing, and two sentries walking up and down in front of the 
doors, would have made me aware that this was the house of 
the chief of the Amu Darya district, even if my guide, who was 
each moment more alarmed at the possible consequences to 
himself for his having taken us to Khiva, had not already in¬ 
formed us that here lived the celebrated Colonel Ivanoff. 

The commandant was out hunting, so a servant informed me. 
At that moment a young officer coming up accosted me by my 
name, and said, “We expected you before this. Come with 
me. There is a room preparedand he led the way to a small 
building inhabited by some of the officers in the garrison. Here 
I found several of them congregated in a small room, and was 
introduced in due form by my newly made acquaintance. I 
then heard that the telegram which had arrived for me was 
from H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge, and that he required my 
immediate return to European Russia. I subsequently learned 
from a Russian officer that, although the message was from 
London, the people most interested in its having been dispatch¬ 
ed were at St. Petersburg — Generals Milutin and Kauffmann 
not at all approving of any Englishman traveling in Central 
Asia. The document had been waiting for me several days at 
the fort, and, in the event of my having gone first to Petro-Al¬ 
exandrovsk, I should never have seen Khiva. 

A little later an officer brought a message from Colonel Ivan¬ 
off, to say that he had returned from shooting, and was wait¬ 
ing to see me. He is a tall man, considerably over six feet in 
height, but very thin, and of a German type, his whiskers hav¬ 
ing a decided Teutonic appearance. I was received by him at 
first a little stiffly, but his demeanor soon changed, and he be* 
gan to laugh about my journey. 


MY RECEPTION BY COLONEL IVANOFF. 


273 


“ Too bad,” he said, “ letting yon get so far, and not allow¬ 
ing you to carry out your undertaking.” 

“ It was lucky,” I remarked, “ that I did not come here first.” 

“Yes,” said Ivanoff; “when I received the dispatch, and 
found that you did not arrive, I sent back a special Tartar cou¬ 
rier to Fort Number One, to say that you had probably gone 
on to Bokhara, and thus given us the slip; but we should have 
caught you there,” he continued. 

“ It is the fortune of war,” I said. “ Anyhow, I have seen 
Khiva.” 

The colonel here winced a little. 

“Khiva; that is nothing,” he said. “Why, Major Wood, 
one of your compatriots, an officer in the Engineers, was here 
last summer: he could have gone to Khiva any day if he liked; 
indeed, I was a little surprised that he never asked me to let 
him go there.”* 

“ Well,” I remarked, “ as I have to return to European Rus¬ 
sia, there can be no objection to my going to St. Petersburg, 
via Tashkent and W T estern Siberia, or by Krasnovodsk and the 
Caspian.” 

“ My orders are very strict about this,” said the colonel. 
“You must go back the shortest way through Kasala. But 
you can write, if you like, to General Kolpakovsky, the officer 
commanding our troops in Turkistan, and I will send on the 
letter with the same courier who leaves this afternoon to an¬ 
nounce your capture; and then, if you return to Kasala in the 
course of three or four days’ time, you will there receive the 
general’s answer.” 


* Apparently there was a slight misunderstanding between Major Wood 
and Colonel Ivanoff on this point, or possibly the atmosphere of Central 
Asia has somewhat affected the colonel’s memory. After my return to 
London from Khiva, I dined one evening with Major Wood, and asked him 
why he had not gone to Khiva. His reply was, “ I wanted to go there very 
much: I frequently asked Ivanoff to let me, saying that it was a great 
nuisance to have come so far, and not be allowed to enter the town; how¬ 
ever, Ivanoff replied that he was very sorry, but he could not allow me to 
do so, as he had received a strict order from General Kauffmann on that 
subject.” 


12* 



274 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


I dined at Ivanoff’s that evening, and had the pleasure of 
making the acquaintance of the officers on his personal staff. 
They were all of them intelligent men, and, to my surprise, very 
abstemious, which is indeed a rare quality amidst the officers in 
European Russia. 

We talked for a long time about England and Russia, the 
general tone of conversation being that England and Russia 
ought to be on the most friendly terms, but that our interests 
were so diametrically opposite that it would be impossible, 
sooner or later, to avoid a collision. 

With reference to Merve, the colonel remarked that he could 
take it at any time, provided his Government would allow him 
to do so, while he said that the fortress he would then build 
there would be a great deal stronger than the one at Petro-Al- 
exandrovsk. 

“ In fact,” he added, “ there we hardly require a fort. You 
see it only consists of a low earthen parapet. The Khivans are 
quiet people ; they do not give us any trouble, and they pay 
their tribute very regularly. The Turkomans, however, are 
quite another race; they were perpetually quarreling with our 
Kirghiz. However, a few months since I caught an armed 
band, which had crossed the Oxus; I ordered two of my cap¬ 
tives to be tried by court-martial, and afterward had them hang¬ 
ed. Since then the Turkomans have been very quiet. How¬ 
ever, they have got one of my soldiers a prisoner at Merve.” 

“Have they not tried him by court-martial and hanged 
him ?” I inquired. 

“ No ; but they want me to pay a ransom for him. The 
fellow has told them that he is an officer. In consequence of 
this they ask an exorbitant sum ; anyhow, I shall not grant it.” 

“We should have no difficulty whatever in taking Merve,”* 


* The distance from Khiva to Merve is about 430 miles, and the time 
occupied by a caravan in performing this journey is seventeen days. Ac¬ 
cording to all accounts, troops, if supplied with a camel train, can easily ac¬ 
complish this march. The only part of the road trying to man and beast 
is the 170 miles’ desert which lies between the Moorghaub and the Oxus, 
but even here wells are to be found; and the longest interval traversed 
without water is fifty-six miles. A force dispatched from Khiva to Merve 



RAPID PROMOTION IN THE RUSSIAN ARMY. 275 

observed another officer. “People talk of the difficulty of get¬ 
ting there; why, our Cossacks could be at Merve in a week if 
the Government would onlv allow us.” 

“ It is too bad,” continued a third ; “ our comrades at Tash¬ 
kent and Kokan are getting all the rewards and decorations, 
and here we are doing nothing. When I came to Petro-Alex- 
androvsk I thought that it would lead to something.” 

The colonel, it appeared, had risen very rapidly in the serv¬ 
ice ; he was only thirty-two, and now commanded 3000 men, 
while 1000 of the Cossacks from Uralsk were shortly expected. 
They would make up the strength of the troops in the Amu 
Darya division of the Turkistan district to about 4000 strong. 
The head-quarters were at Petro-Alexandrovsk, while detach¬ 
ments had been stationed at Lager and Nookoos, a small fort 
about eighty miles from Petro-Alexandrovsk, and on the right 
bank of the Oxus. 

It was said that Ivanoff would shortly receive his promotion, 
and be made a general, which probably would take place when 
Kauffmann returned from St. Petersburg. 

would not have to undergo half the hardship experienced in the route from 
Kasala to Khiva. Indeed, the Khivans, under Mohammed Rabiss Khan, 
were able to take Merve; thus showing that even a badly organized Asi¬ 
atic force can perform the journey. Besides the two caravan roads that 
lead from Khiva to the capital of the Turkomans, there is a direct caravan 
track from Bokhara to Merve, by Chardjui, the distance being about 230 
miles. This is by far the easiest route. Two days is the longest time that 
troops would be on the road without finding wells, while caravans go from 
Bokhara to Merve in thirteen days. A Bokharan army, under Shah Murad, 
captured this stronghold of the Turkomans in 1850, and destroyed the dam 
or bend of the river Moorghaub in order to impoverish the country. Where 
Bokharan troops can go Russian soldiers would have no difficulty in follow¬ 
ing, and the same force which has captured Samarcand would find little 
difficulty in overcoming any resistance the badly armed but brave Turkoman 
hordes might be able to oppose. There is a third route to Merve, which 
would perhaps be the easiest of all in the event of an advance in that di¬ 
rection. This would be along the line of the Turkoman forts, under the 
slopes of the Attrek outside Khorassan. This road leads through a fer¬ 
tile and well-watered country, and where some Turkoman tribes have been 
already gained over to the Russian interests. A Russian line of military 
operations along the Kurren Dagh would flank Persia in the north, and 
turn her from the east at Meshed. 



276 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


A newspaper was brought in later on in the evening. It was 
the Russian World , and it contained an article about the large 
number of German officers in high position in the Russian 
army, a number out of all proportion with the population of 
the Baltic Provinces, as compared with the rest of the empire. 

It was easy to see, from the remarks which were freely pass¬ 
ed, that not much love was lost between the officers in the gar¬ 
rison and the Germans, Ivan off himself, in spite of his Teuton 
appearance, being very anti-Prussian, in which feeling he was 
joined by almost every officer in the garrison. Indeed, during 
my journey through Russia, I was struck by the marked hostil¬ 
ity shown by all classes to the Austrians and Germans, the con¬ 
duct of the former power during the Crimean war having left 
a very bitter feeling behind it, which is strengthened by the 
supposed antagonistic views of the two governments with ref¬ 
erence to Constantinople. 

The Russian officers were unanimous in saying that the new 
military system in Russia was as yet in a state of transition, 
and that they were not yet prepared for war with so great a 
power as Germany ; the general remark being that if they could 
only have peace for five more years, that then Russia would 
be able to show her teeth. 

As to Austria, she was spoken of in terms of great contempt, 
and alluded to as if she only held her place in Europe by rea¬ 
son of the sufferance of the Emperors Alexander and William; 
the Austrian army being looked down upon by the Russian of¬ 
ficers. 

However, I can not help thinking that the latter will find out 
their mistake when the day arrives for them to attempt an in¬ 
vasion of Francis Joseph’s dominions. Austria has profited by 
her defeat at Sadowa. Her officers and men are now as intelli¬ 
gent and capable as those of any army in Europe; while, though 
her exchequer is at a low ebb, it is really in not so bad a state 
as that of her neighbor, whose reckless borrowing to pay the 
interest of former loans is very likely to ultimately produce a 
national bankruptcy.* 


* The newly acquired territory in Turkistan, owing to bad administra- 



BUDGET OF THE TURKISTAN GOVERNMENT. 


277 


There were about thirty ladies in Petro-Alexandrovsk: these 
were the wives and daughters of the officers in the garrison; 


tion, has only added to the Russian debt. I here give some figures with 
reference to the income and expenditure in that province. As these fig¬ 
ures are taken from a Russian source, it may be presumed that they do 
not overstate the balance against the national exchequer. 


BUDGET OF THE TURKISTAN GOVERNMENT. 


Year. 

Income in Rubles. 

Administrative Expenditure 
in Rubles. 

1868 

... 1,643,237 . 

. 620,750 _ 

1869 

... 2,205,909 . 

. 1,229,064 _ 

1870 

... 2,007,837 . 

. 1,177,125 _ 

1871 

... 2,021,138 . 

. 1,378,768 _ 

1872 

... 2,019,296 . 

. 1,695,732 _ 


Balance in Ruble*. 

. 1,022,487 
. 976,845 

. 830,712 

. 642,370 

. 323,564 

3,795,978 


Military Expenditure in the Turkistan Government for Five Years, 

from 1868 to 1872. 

Amount shown in Rubles. 


For 1868 
“ 1869 
“ 1870 
“ 1871 
“ 1872 


4,392,940 

4,592,460 

6,114,883 

6,820,945 

7,576,186 


Deduct Balance 


29,497,414 

3,795,978 


25,701,436 

Or, at 7 rubles to the pound sterling, a deficit 

of about.£3,671,633 


We will now examine more in detail the budget for 1874. 

Income in Rubles. 2,971,889 

Add (1) Receipts from Postal Department. 108,240 

“ (2) “ “ Telegraph Department. 42,000 

Balance of previous years, according to estimate of Con¬ 
tract Department. 1,200 

Income from all sources. 3,123,329 


Income. DETAILS OF INCOME FOR 1874. Rubles. 

1. Regular ..* 2,465,107 

2. Fluctuating. 250,000 

3. Miscellaneous. 266,782 


2,971,889 

































278 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 






and once a week a dance was held at a club-house which had 
been recently built. 


Details of 1.— Regular. 



Rents. " Amount Collected. 

Cost of Collection. 

(a) 

Tax on kibitkas*. 

563,735 

57,688 

(6) 

Land taxes f. 

1,302,110 

40,195 

(<0 

Taxes on trade. 

279,472 

24,028 

id) 

Cash commutations for taxes in kind .. 

181,511 


(e) 

Poll-tax on 570 Meschans, 11 of the 




Semirechye. 

1,368 


(/) 

Taxes on the population living on the 




upper course of the Zer-afshan. 

5,000 




2,333,196 

17,416 


2. — Fluctuating. 


Rubles. 


Amount derived from excise and licenses for sale of spirit.. 250,000 

8.— Miscellaneous. „ ,. 


Rubles. 

(а) Obrok tax on crown lands and cotton plantations. 34,691 

(б) Guild tax from Russian merchants. 60,000 

(c) Duty on tea imported from the khanates. 6,054 

( d) Stamps on deeds for sale of real property and fees. 6,000 

(e) Sale of stamped paper. 18,000 

(/) Fines. 3,000 

(g) Passports. 397 

(A) Occasional items. 60,000 

(i) Receipts on account of Turkistan Gazette . 3,500 

(j) Rents on Government shops at fairs, including caravan¬ 

saries which yield 20,000 rubles. 30,000 

(k) Receipts from forests in the Semirechye district. 9,000 

“ “ “ “ Zer-afshan districts. 2,000 

(?) Subscriptions to Tashkent Public Library. 140 

(m) Receipts from the Governor-general’s printing-press .... 4,000 

( n ) Repayment of advances made to agriculturists at sowing¬ 

time. 30,000 

266,782 

Total revenue and receipts from Postal and Telegraph Departments, 
and balance of former years, as estimated by the Control Department. 
Total revenue, 1874. 3,123,329 rubles. 


* Total number of kibitkas, 225,972, at 2r. 75c. per kibitka. 
t Including the Tanap, Kherag , Khospul, and Kipren levied from the settled 
population, which amount to 442,305 rubles for the Syr Darya and Zer-afshan dis* 
tricts respectively, 900,000. 




































BUDGET OF THE TURKISTAN GOVERNMENT. 


279 


The ladies had reached the fort, having made the journey 
in the summer months by the Syr Darya, the Sea of Aral, and 


Expenditure on Maintenance of Administration. 

Rubles. 

1. Maintenance of Governor-general’s office. 63,400 

2. “ “ “ district offices. 439,697 

3. Officers deputed on special duty. 21,600 

624,597 

Extraordinary Expenditure. 

Rubles. 

1. Extraordinary proper. 127,860 

2. Transport of troops. 65,000 

182,860 

Expenditure on Local Requirements. 

Rubles. 

1. Maintenance of communications and general rural expenses 181,511 

2. Schools. 31,100 

3. Stationery. 2,000 

4. Geological explorations. 25,000 

6. Cost of collecting taxes.121,911 

6. Expenses connected with Tashkent fair. 61,440 

7. Maintenance of town hospital at Samarcand. 7,125 

8. Expenses connected with the Samarcand jail (including 

maintenance of prisoners), etc. 16,100 

9. Expenses connected with the Governor-general’s print¬ 

ing-press. 10,000 

10. Publication of the Turkistan Gazette . 12,000 

11. Cost of encampments in the Zer-afshan district. 45,000 

12. Erection of store-houses for grain in the Zer-afshan district 30,000 

13. Building expenses. 300,000 

14. Grants in aid to Russian immigrants. 3,000 

15. Forest conservation. 4,500 

16. Miscellaneous expenses. 13,100 

863,787 

Must be added Rubies. 

Maintenance of post-offices, postal stations.713,901 

“ “ telegraphs. 68,960 

“ “ Control Department. 28,848 

“ “ treasuries of Turkistan.113,444 

Expenses connected with the agent of the Minister of Finance 6,000 
Maintenance of school of sericulture, chemical laboratory, and 

Government gardener. 12,760 


942,913 































280 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


Amu Darya (Oxus), in the steamers which ply between Tash¬ 
kent and Petro-Alexandrovsk. The latter was a dull quarter, 
and the fair sex had done their best to enliven it by establish¬ 
ing this weekly dance. Colonel Ivanoff very kindly gave me 
an invitation for the one which was to be held the next even¬ 
ing, while I was told that the following day there would be 
some coursing with greyhounds and hawks, one of the chief 
diversions in Central Asia. 


Expenditure on Local Requirements.— Continued. 


1874. 


Rubles. 


Thus—Grand total of expenditure amounts to.2,514,157 

Deduct 2,514,157 rubles from 3,123,329 rubles. 

Balance. 609,172 


But now we must deduct ordinary military expenditure, which, 
if gauged by former years, amounts to about 5,000,000 
rubles a year. 

Deduct 609,172 rubles from 5,000,000 rubles. 

Balance. 4,390,828 

Or about £627,261 excess of expenditure over income. 






PREPARING FOR THE HUNT. 


281 


CHAPTER XXXV. 

The Meet. — Bokharan and Kirghiz Sportsmen. — The Country.—The 
Chase.—The Falcons.—A Club-house.—A Ball.—The Way of Dancing 
Quadrilles.—Valses.—A Mazurka.—Theatricals.—Osbaldestone’s Feat. 
—The Davenport Brothers’ Trick.—The Khan’s Treasurer.—An Envoy 
from the Emir of Bokhara. — “Who is the Khan in the Moon?” — A 
Russo-German Scientific Expedition.—A Prussian Officer.—Nazar and 
Ivanoff’s Servants.—Captain Yanusheff.—Shurahan. 

The following morning, after a hurried breakfast, an officer 
came and informed us that every thing was ready for a start. 
I now mounted a little bay horse, which, though hardly four¬ 
teen hands, danced about beneath me as if he had been carry¬ 
ing a feather-weight jockey for the Cambridgeshire. 

There were horses and men of all kinds and shapes—long- 
legged men on short-legged horses, and short-legged men on 
giant Turkoman steeds; all the officers being in uniform, while 
some Bokharan and Kirghiz sportsmen, attired in crimson 
dressing-gowns, rode in the rear of our cavalcade. 

Seven or eight greyhounds were led in couples behind the 
master of the hunt, a stout colonel, who was said to understand 
the ways and haunts of timid puss better than any other officer 
in the garrison ; and a stoutly built Khivan who rode a fine- 
looking chestnut bore upon his elbow a graceful falcon, which, 
now hooded, was destined later on to play its part in the day’s 
sport. 

The Kirghiz made the welkin ring with their yells. Im¬ 
mense excitement prevailed, while all the dogs in the garrison, 
attracted bv the noise and commotion, were collected round 
the cortege. 

The hunting-ground was about eight miles distant, and away 
we rode at a rattling pace; the galop to cover being consid¬ 
ered as part of the day’s entertainment. 

The country lay open and flat before. There was not an 


282 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


obstacle to check our course save now and then a dike, some 
eight feet wide, which the horses took in fair style; the Kir¬ 
ghiz and Bokharans looking back to see how the animal I be¬ 
strode would jump with his heavy rider. Never a stumble, 
however, and the hardy little beast could have carried Daniel 
Lambert himself, if that worthy but obese gentleman had been 
resuscitated for the occasion. Now a Bokharan would race by 
me with a wild cry, and lash a flagging mongrel, which, min¬ 
gling with our pack, and soon outstripped by his fleeter breth¬ 
ren, had crossed the riders’ path. 

All of a sudden the master pulled up his panting steed, and, 
dismounting, told us that we had reached the cover. 

A narrow tract of bush and bramble-covered ground was ex¬ 
tended right and left of our party, while over the low brush¬ 
wood was seen a broad crystal streak, like a Venetian mirror 
set in a frame of frosted silver. The Oxus lay before us, and 
the flakes of snow which covered the banks and surrounding 
country marked its breadth from shore to shore. 

We now formed one long line, each horseman being twenty 
yards apart from his fellow, and in this order rode through the 
reeds and brambles. 

Presently a wild shout from a red-gowned Kirghiz announced 
that a hare had broken cover, and Russians, Cossacks, Kirghiz, 
and self galloped in pursuit of the startled quarry. Straight 
at the river went the frightened animal, and after it, in hot pur¬ 
suit, our heterogeneous pack. Down the bank our horses slid 
rather than scrambled, and across the river we raced, each man 
vying with his neighbor. Half a mile from the farther shore 
lay another dense copse, and it seemed as if the greyhounds 
would be distanced in the chase. 

But the rider who bore the falcon now launched his bird 
into the air. Another second and the hawk was perched on its 
victim’s back, while the well-trained greyhounds, surrounding 
their prey, stood open-mouthed, with lolling tongues, not daring 
to approach the quarry. 

The master now galloped up and, dismounting, took posses¬ 
sion of the hare, when in a few minutes more we were again 
in full cry. Five hares eventually rewarded our exertions, and 


A BALL IN KHIVAN TERRITORY. 


283 


then, after a headlong burst homeward, I found myself again 
within the precincts of the fort. 

In the evening I went to the assembly-rooms. Here each 
week a dance is held, but on other days the building is used as 
a club by the officers of the garrison. A long but narrow room, 
the wooden floor of which had been brought from European 
Russia, was arranged for the ball: an adjacent apartment was 
furnished with a well-spread supper-table, while a quantity of 
small tables, laden with bottles of the sweetest of Champagne 
and Bordeaux, were already occupied by some officers. 

A brass band belonging to one of the regiments of the gar¬ 
rison was playing an inspiriting quadrille; the Russians, not 
dancing it as in England, but each man, first securing chairs for 
himself and partner, remains seated beside his lady until the 
moment arrives for them to take their turn in the figure. The 
last part of the dance, too, is different to any thing ever seen in 
this country, and London society would find itself singularly 
puzzled if invited to participate in a Russian quadrille. 

Now the musicians struck up a valse, and round went the 
giddy couples; but the moments of bliss experienced by the 
cavalier are brief, for he is not allowed to dance the valse 
through with his partner: after taking one turn she leaves 
him, and in another instant is whirling round, encircled by 
the arms of a second cavalier, who in his turn gives way to a 
third. 

Later on a mazurka was danced, not as we see it in this coun¬ 
try, but with stately figures, acccompanied by the jingling of 
spurs, each cavalier stamping lightly with his armed heel, and 
joining in the cadence of the music ; the varied uniforms of 
the Cossacks and other officers lighting up the room, and mak¬ 
ing it difficult for me to realize that we were in Central Asia, 
and in the lately conquered Ivhivan territory. 

I had dispatched a letter to General Kryjinovsky, the Gov¬ 
ernor-general of Turkistan during Kauffmann’s absence from 
his command; and Colonel Ivanoff now informed me that two 
officers, with a Cossack escort, were about to march to Kasala. 
He also said that it would be as well if I were to accompany 
the party, and receive at Fort Number One the answer to my 


284 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


request to be permitted to return to St. Petersburg by Tash¬ 
kent and Western Siberia, instead of by Orenburg. 

Some theatricals had been arranged for that evening, with 
soldiers as actors. After dinner I went with Ivanoff and his 
staff to witness the performance. The majority of the specta¬ 
tors consisted of Cossacks and Kirghiz. The latter were not 
able to understand the language of the actors, but eagerly fol¬ 
lowed their gestures, and were highly delighted with the fre¬ 
quent pistol-shots and clashing of sabres which accompanied 
each act, the principal character in the piece being a robber 
chief. The performance ended by his capture and execution, 
the actor personifying the robber being brought on the stage. 
This man, who was an acrobat, inserted his feet into the noose 
of a rope, and was suspended by his heels, the executioner 
firing off a pistol in the air as a sign of the prisoner’s dissolu¬ 
tion. A plate was on a table by the door, and each officer on 
leaving put in a few rubles to reward the performers for their 
trouble. 

I had a conversation with the colonel the next evening about 
the respective merits of the Kirghiz and English horses; and I 
left the good-natured officer in considerable doubt as to my ve¬ 
racity, neither his staff nor himself being able to believe that 
any English horse had ever jumped thirty-six feet in breadth; 
while Osbaldestone’s feat of riding 200 miles in eight hours 
and a half was in their eyes nothing in comparison to the leap 
above mentioned. 

People in Central Asia can not be supposed to be so au fait 
with what goes on in the world as we denizens of the West, 
and I eventually succeeded in obtaining a certain amount of 
credence, by saying that no one in the room could tie me with 
a rope in such a manner that I could not free myself. An ar¬ 
tillery officer now stepped forward, and wished my assertion to 
be put to the proof. This was done, and the result disconcert¬ 
ed the audience, as the time I took in escaping from my bonds 
was not half so long as the officer had taken in tying me. 

The following morning the khan’s treasurer arrived, bringing 
with him several thousand rubles as an installment of the war 
indemnity. He breakfasted with Ivanoff, and managed to eat 


A RUSSO-GERMAN SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITION. 285 

liis food with a knife and fork, though the management of the 
latter article appeared to give him a good deal of trouble. 

In spite of his Mussulman creed, the treasurer had a taste for 
Champagne, which his sovereign also appreciates. A few doz¬ 
ens of this wine are frequently sent to Khiva from the fort, 
the scruples of the khan having been allayed by the informa¬ 
tion that Champagne was not known to the prophet, and that 
consequently he could not have laid down any law prohibiting 
its use. 

Shortly before the arrival of the treasurer, an envoy from the 
Emir of Bokhara had been at Petro-Alexandrovsk. There had 
been a misunderstanding about some nomad Kirghiz, who, it 
was said, used to cross the frontier and enter Bokharan terri¬ 
tory when the Russian officials were about to collect the taxes. 
Some correspondence on this subject had ensued between the 
Emir and General Kauffmann. The former, by all accounts, 
was not a very enlightened ruler, and it was said of him that 
on one occasion he sent to a Russian officer, who had been seen 
looking at the moon through a telescope, and inquired what it 
was he could see there. “ Mountains and extinct volcanoes,” 
■was the answer. “ Dear me,” said the Emir, “ how very curi¬ 
ous ! Pray who is the khan in the moon ? I should like to 
make his acquaintance.” 

While talking about Bokhara, an officer remarked that a Rus¬ 
sian and German scientific expedition was about to visit that 
city, and subsequently survey the country between Samarcand 
and Peshawur; a railway to Central Asia being absolutely nec¬ 
essary for the purpose of quickly concentrating troops, should 
it be required. “To our next meeting,” suddenly observed a 
young officer, pledging me in a glass of Champagne. “ Where 
will it be?” “Who knows?” said another; “I suppose, sooner 
or later, we shall meet on the battle-field.” In fact, almost ev¬ 
ery officer I met in Central Asia was of opinion that ere long a 
collision would take place between themselves and our troops 
in India, the general remark being, “ It is a great pity ; but our 
interests clash, and though capital friends as individuals, the 
question as to who is to be master in the East must soon be 
decided by the sword.” 


286 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


In spite of General Kauffmann’s dislike to foreigners travel¬ 
ing in Turkistan, a Prussian officer had been permitted to en¬ 
ter a Russian regiment, and was serving at Petro-Alexandrovsk. 

O' o 

He had been all through the Franco-German war, where he had 
distinguished himself. Subsequently, however, to this, he per¬ 
suaded one of the Tzar’s German relatives to ask the emperor 
to give him a commission in a regiment in Turkistan. In the 
course of conversation, I found that he had been educated at 
the same establishment as myself in Germany, and consequent¬ 
ly knew several of my friends. The Russian officers spoke very 
highly of his military capacity, though many of them remarked 
that it was a great mistake allowing him to serve with them, as 
he would know too much, should war break out between Ger¬ 
many and themselves, when, of course, he would return to the 
fatherland. It must at first have been somewhat disagreeable 
for this young German officer, being thus thrown in constant 
contact with a body of officers who, to a man, detested his na¬ 
tionality. 

I was now busy with Nazar making preparations for our re¬ 
turn march to Orenburg, and laying in a supply of provisions 
for the journey. I had purchased two dozen pheasants, these 
birds being found in great profusion in Khiva, where they can 
be bought for fivepence each. 

My little Tartar had a doleful expression on his countenance, 
and on inquiry I found that he was living with Ivanoff’s soldier- 
servants, and that they sold their own rations and lived princi¬ 
pally upon fish, which could be purchased for a mere song at 
Petro. Nazar had found that this diet did not agree with him. 
He was too stingy to spend some extra money I had allowed 
him as board-wages, and preferred to mess at the expense of 
the servants, the latter protecting themselves by sometimes not 
letting him know the dinner-hour, and only calling him when 
nothing was left of their repast save bones. 

“ Look here!” said my servant, “ I’m a skeleton.” 

“Why do you not buy something with your board-wages?” 
I inquired. 

“Buy!” he replied, much surprised at my question. “I’m 
not such a fool as to buy so long as I can get any thing to eat 


AN ESCORT. 


287 


without paying for it; but they are greedy, those dogs of serv¬ 
ants, sons of animals that they are!” and the little man walked 
away, not at all pleased with the hospitality of his confreres in 
the kitchen. 

I was now introduced to the two officers who were to accom¬ 
pany me to Fort Number One. One of these, Captain Yanu- 
sheff, was an artillery officer, who had distinguished himself in 
the Khivan expedition, and he now commanded the entire artil¬ 
lery force in the Amu Darya district. He was going to Kasala 
to buy some remount horses from the Kirghiz. His compan¬ 
ion was a Cossack saul, or captain; he was returning to Tash¬ 
kent to join his squadron. These two officers would take with 
them an escort of ten Cossacks, and the start was arranged for 
the following morning. The weather had become much warm- 
er; indeed, when that afternoon we rode over to Shurahan, a 
Khivan town which has been annexed to Russia, our road lay 
no longer over snow, but over sand, while according to all ac¬ 
counts the ice on the Oxus would soon begin to melt. My 
companions, who did not fancy a ride to Kasala, determined to 
take advantage of this change in the weather, and travel in a 
tarantass drawn by horses, until they arrived at a place where 
snow had fallen ; the horses could then be sent back, and cam¬ 
els harnessed in their stead. 


288 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


CHAPTER XXXVI. 

The Tarantass.—The Last Adieux.—A Night in the Cold.—The Cossacks: 
their Arms, Weight, etc.—How they Bivouac.—The Emir of Bokhara.— 
The Sentry.—His Punishment.—Whipping the Camel-driver.—The Kir¬ 
ghiz Postman.—A Kirghiz Chapel.—A Race back to Kasala.—Three 
Hundred and Fifty-nine Miles in Nine Days and Two Hours.—A Duel.— 
Mutiny of the Uralsk Cossacks.—The Tzarevitch. — The Cross of St. 
George.—A Re-enforcement of 10,000 Men from Orenburg. 

Our start the following morning was a curious sight to wit¬ 
ness. First came the tarantass, an extraordinary vehicle, pecul¬ 
iar to Russia. It resembled a hansom-cab without the wheels, 
and the carriage then fastened in a brewer’s dray. There were 
no springs of any kind to prevent jolting, while some small 
but very solid wooden wheels supported the body of the cart. 
Harness, made of cables, was attached to six Kirghiz horses, 
whose united efforts could barely move the vehicle more than 
five miles an hour. Several officers of the garrison accompa¬ 
nied their comrades for a mile or so, and then wished them 
“ godspeed ” on their journey, which, in spite of the change in 
the weather, was looked upon as any thing but a light under¬ 
taking. Soon after leaving the fort we came to a large village. 
Here we found several ladies; among others, the wife of the 
artillery officer, who had come to say farewell to her husband. 
Champagne and bottles of vodki were lying on the ground, and 
a bonfire had been lighted, by which the ladies sat warming 
their feet. 

The last adieux had been said. Yanusheff had torn himself 
away from his fond surroundings, and we were once more en 
route. In a few hours or so we came again upon the snow. 
It covered the ground so thickly that the horses in the taran¬ 
tass had to be taken out, and a couple of camels harnessed in 
their place. 

In the mean time I had ridden on with my guide and Nazar. 


THE FLESH-POTS OF EGYPT IN IMAGINATION. 


289 


Presently we halted by the ruins of an old castle, which had 
been built by one of the khan’s ancestors to defend his coun¬ 
try against a Russian invasion. 

After waiting some time for the tarantass, which did not ar¬ 
rive, we continued the journey, hoping to encounter our bag¬ 
gage camels, which had been sent forward the previous day 
with the Cossacks. After marching for another hour, we stop¬ 
ped at a well about forty miles from Petro-Alexandrovsk. It 
was bitterly cold; there was a great deal of wind, nothing to 
eat, and, what was worse, the brambles and brush-wood were too 
damp to make a fire. “ What had become of our baggage cam¬ 
els ?” was the question each man put to his neighbor; “ had we 
passed them in the dark, or were they still in front of us ?” 

It was useless going on or going back, and the only thing to 
do was to sit it out, and persuade ourselves that we were nei- 
their cold nor hungry. Imagination is a wonderful thing, but 
it has its limits, and the more I tried to persuade myself that I 
had just dined, the more I thought of the flesh-pots of Egypt 
and all their accompaniments, while visions of turtle-soup and 
Champagne came floating up before me, and stimulating afresh 
the keen rage of a ravenous appetite. The guide cursed his 
fate, and, to cheer up his spirits, commenced singing a ditty 
about the beauties of a sheep and the delights of roast mutton. 
However, the night sped by, and, lying down on the snow, we 
got what sleep we could, till at day-break we were joined by 
the officers in the tarantass. 

My fellow-travelers, who had slept in the carriage, and were 
provided with thick furs, had passed the night a little less un¬ 
comfortably than ourselves, although they too cursed the cold 
in no very measured terms. 

Soon afterward we came up with the Cossacks and baggage 
camels, the escort having bivouacked a few versts beyond the 
well.* 

* Captain Petto, of the Russian service, in his work, “Steppe Cam¬ 
paigns,” gives us the following information about a Cossack bivouac: “ In 
the presence of the enemy a detachment ordinarily bivouacs behind a wag¬ 
on barricade; but if the transport be small, and the place selected for the 
bivouac offers one of its sides to a river, ravine, or other obstacle which 

13 




290 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


The artillery captain ordered his driver to stop, and, getting 
out of the vehicle, proposed that we should have breakfast. 

Presently he produced from the boot in the tarantass a square 
tin box, with a large cork inserted in one of its sides. The 


is secure from an unexpected attack, the wagon barricade may, in order to 
gain internal space, be arranged in the shape of a lunette, with its open 
side toward the natural obstacle. On the other hand, if the train be large, 
it is preferable to form a square, the carts being in several rows, and suf¬ 
ficient room being given for the reception of the horses, not losing sight of 
the possibility of bringing a fire to bear upon the enemy from behind the 
carts. The length of each face of the square should be in proportion to 
the number of men defending it. The angular spaces are filled with bales, 
or occupied with guns. The troops are ordinarily distributed parallel to 
the faces of the wagon barricade, and at such distances apart that between 
them and the inner row of carts in rear there may be sufficient space, in 
the event of attack, for bringing up artillery and reserves. The men’s kits 
are heaped up in rear of their own particular section, and behind them are 
piled their rifles. The Cossack horse-lines are in rear of the line of the 
bivouac, and behind them, in the centre of the barricade, are the staff, the 
artillery park, the engineer and hospital trains, the sutlers, and, lastly, if 
there is room, the drivers with their horses and camels in a separate square. 
By day, it is necessary to take advantage of any opportunity of sending out 
the animals to pasture; but they should be again brought into camp at twi¬ 
light, and, if possible, placed within the barricade—the camels near one of 
the faces most removed from attack, and the horses in the horse-lines, and 
hobbled. For the defense of a camp, both by day and night, it is necessa¬ 
ry to throw out a chain of dismounted posts. These posts furnished from 
the Cossacks are called mayaks (signaling stations). Each mayak consists 
of three men: one of them always remains mounted, while the other two 
rest: they go separately to water, to get grass, etc. At night the camp 
should be surrounded with a chain of sentries, and the detachment should 
be on the qui vive, as the robbers often make a dash at the camp, and, tak¬ 
ing advantage of the commotion which ensues, endeavor to carry off the 
camels and horses, or to seize any thing they can. In former times the 
detached Cossack posts, pickets, and small forts along the Siberian line 
protected themselves by throwing out sentries on commanding eminences, 
and at night by patrols; but, owing to the small number of men and the 
frequent alarms, the outpost service was so fatiguing that the Cossacks 
had recourse to the use of dogs. These dogs were exceedingly watchful, 
and at the smallest noise barked and roused the Cossacks. This custom 
was probably brought from the Caucasus—in fact, from the shores of the 
Black Sea, where the employment of dogs was in general use, and where 
these animals were regularly rationed and trained. 




CHILDREN, COME HERE !” 


291 


vessel contained about four gallons of the strongest vodki. He 
then took a beaker, which held about half a pint, and called 
out, “ Children, come here !” 

The Cossacks, who were looking on at the operation with 
great interest, ran up, and my companion, filling the measure, 
gave each man in turn a dram: this the soldiers tossed off at 
one gulp, and then returned to their horses. I tasted some of 
the vodki, which was more like liquid fire than any thing else 
to which it can be likened, and spirits of wine or naphtha would 
have been a cooling draught in comparison. However, the ar¬ 
tillery captain had no intention of testing the strength of the 
Cossack’s fire-water. His servant, bringing up some bottles of 
Madeira, and vodki of another quality, poured us out a less po¬ 
tent stimulant, which, in the keen air we were then breathing, 
was not unpalatable, though in England two or three glasses of 
the mixture w r ould have put most men under the table. 

The Cossacks w r ere fine, well-built fellows, averaging about 
eleven stone in weight, their marching -weight* being over 

* Captain Petto’s observations about the size and requirements of a 
steppe train may not be uninteresting to military readers. This officer re¬ 
marks : “ The amount of train in a steppe campaign depends on the quan¬ 
tity of provisions and other requisites which have to be carried by the 
expeditionary force. The following are the chief articles to be carried: 
Food, forage, horse equipment, officers’ and soldiers’ baggage, medicines 
and hospital stores, felt tents, and camp equipage. The proportion of this 
equipage for a company of 170 men is as follows: Six cast-iron boilers 
with lids, two white-metal dram-cups, seven water-vessels, seven pounds of 
pepper, four pounds and a half of laurel-leaves, 100 pounds of leaf-tobac- 
co, nine bottles essence of vinegar, 100 pounds of onions, ten pounds of 
garlic, ten pounds of horse-radish, ten pounds of soap, 200 pounds of salt, 
three wooden troughs, five scythes, 120 mats, 300 fathoms rope, three 
hatchets, three spades, three picks, seven shovels, two white-metal mugs, 
one eight-gallon cask, three wooden shovels, one net, one iron pail, and 170 
wooden tea-cups. The weight of this is from 1200 to 1600 pounds. Some¬ 
times we have had to carry with us such things as wood field-forges, bridg¬ 
ing material, portable wells, guns on pack animals, and finally a number 
of spare horses or camels, in case of forming sick convoys, flying detach¬ 
ments, or for carrying convalescents, etc. From this list of necessaries it 
is plain that the train of a steppe detachment must be very numerous. In 
European warfare one cart ordinarily suffices for forty or fifty men; in 
steppe campaigns it is otherwise: every two or three men must have an 



292 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


eighteen stone, this including twenty pounds of barley for their 
horses (barley being preferred to oats in these parts), and six 

animal, and sometimes more. If we suppose, for example, a Cossack sot- 
nia (150 men) taking the field with a month’s supplies, then, according to 
calculation, it will require about eighty camels, without counting officers’ 
baggage, carts for the transport of military stores, the sick, etc. This is 
the reason that military detachments marching in the steppe are nothing 
else but an escort to their own numerous trains. Napoleon’s campaign in 
Egypt, where the transport organized by him was on so reduced a scale 
that every thing could be placed within a small infantry square, can not 
serve us as a precedent, because the French were able to transport their 
food and other stores by the Nile. The same must be remarked respect¬ 
ing the later expeditions in Algeria, where the French had seldom to pro¬ 
ceed more than two or three marches from their store depots; but even 
in this case, according to the observations of Marshal Bugeaud, there were 
often more than 1000 different sorts of animals with a column consisting 
of 5000 men under arms. In the steppes the smallest train, as we know, 
was that at the time of the Khivan campaign of Prince Bekovitch Tcher- 
kassky, when there was a camel to every two men ; the greatest was in the 
winter of 1839, in General Perovsky’s expedition, when every man had two 
camels, and every two men approximately had a three-horse cart. The 
Englisn train in the East Indies and in Afghanistan was still more numer¬ 
ous. Suffice it to say that, according to the returns, the train of each bat¬ 
talion of infantry is fixed in time of peace at 1200 mules and 600 mule- 
drivers. In the field these numbers are still further increased. The rea¬ 
son why such vast crowds of servants and immense trains follow in the 
wake of a detachment, where every elephant, every horse, every camel, and 
every bullock has his attendant, is partly due to the climate, so baneful 
for Europeans, and still more to the Oriental habits which effeminate the 
troops. Even the common soldiers had their servants, and thus, in the 
words of an Englishman, the military camp was turned into a motley show. 
Similar license led to pernicious consequences for the English during their 
second expedition to Afghanistan in the winter of 1841, when the detach¬ 
ment of 4000 men under General Elphinstone was forced to retreat; the 
train following in rear numbered 12000 men. This unarmed, dissolute, 
and most demoralized mob quickly fell into complete disorder, enabling 
the Afghans to surround the English detachment and destroy it, so that of 
the 16,000 or 17,000 men only one Englishman, thanks to the rapidity of 
his horse, succeeded in reaching the fortress of Jelalabad. Consequently, 
in the Abyssinian campaign, in 1867, the English deemed it necessary to 
limit the baggage of each officer to eighty pounds, and that of each soldier 
to twenty pounds, including bedding. The result was to reduce the ordina¬ 
ry number of mules per battalion from 1200 to 187, and 100 drivers. But 
with all this, the train of the expeditionary force numbered 20,000 various 



PAY OF THE COSSACKS. 


293 


pounds of biscuits, a sufficient ration for a man for four days. 
For arms they carried short breech-loading rifles and swords, 
while they were shortly to be supplied with the Berdan carbine, 
which is spoken of very highly by the Russian officers. 

The Cossacks do not receive much pay—about four shillings 


animals. For carrying the baggage in steppe campaigns we use pack an¬ 
imals, two-horse or one-horse carts, and, lastly, bullock transport. The 
baggage is so arranged that each pair-horse or pair-bullock cart has not 
more than 1400 pounds, each one-horse 700 pounds, each camel-load 680 
pounds. The quantity of carts or camels, and consequently the size of the 
train, is calculated for each unit. Assuming the company of infantry at 
200 men, inclusive of servants, non-combatants, and officers, it requires for 
one month 12,480 pounds of biscuit (net weight), 2080 pounds of groats 
(net), in lieu of five-sixths of the monthly allowance of spirit, sixty pounds 
of tea, and 180 pounds of sugar, and five gallons and a half of spirits, 
weighing eighty pounds; oats for the draught horses, 600 pounds; fifteen 
kibitkas, being ten per company, two for sick, three for officers, each weigh¬ 
ing 260 pounds, equal to 3900 pounds ; felts for bedding (ten pounds to 
twelve pounds), camp equipage and antiscorbutic stores, 1200 pounds to 
2000 pounds; men’s kits, at sixty pounds, 12,000 pounds; ammunition, 
2000 pounds; in all, about sixteen tons. If this amount of baggage be 
placed in one-horse carts, 1000 pounds in each, thirty-six carts will De re¬ 
quired. Of this number, for food alone (six tons and a half) fifteen carts; 
and as the detachments are never sent for less than two months, fifty carts 
will be required. To this number we must add three or four additional 
carts for the apothecaries’ medicines and sick on the march; in all, say 
fifty-six carts. For this load there ought to be sixty-five camels (each at 
660 pounds), allowing one spare camel for every seven or ten camels. The 
sotnias of Cossacks have no special carts for their baggage, but carry it 
with the forage: the number of carts which they require is much greater 
than for a company. For a Cossack sotnia, consisting of 145 men and 
three officers, 148 riding and fourteen pack horses, much more transport is 
required than for a company. The food for the men, and barley or oats 
(eight quarts and a half daily) for the horses, amount in two months to 
120,000 pounds, without the sacks. The other baggage is not great—ten 
or eleven kibitkas ; seven for the Cossacks, three for officers, and one for 
sick, equal to 2600 pounds, and two or three carts for the apothecary, med¬ 
icine, and sick. On this computation, the number of carts necessary for 
a sotnia for two months, including sacks and coverings, will amount to 130 
or 135. Of camels for the same period, leaving five carts, there would be 
required about 200 (each carrying 640 pounds), to which must be added 
about thirty spare. If hay has to be carried, a considerable addition must 
be made to the transport.” 



294 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


every third of a year, or a shilling a month, being all a man has 
for pocket-money. However, they are well fed and clothed. 
The daily ration is two and a half pounds of flour and one 
pound of meat; one hundred soldiers receiving one pound of 
tea and three pounds of sugar per diem, while each man is 
credited with half a copeck a day for vegetables. His horse, 
uniform, arms, etc., are his own property, or the property of 
the district which has equipped him and sent him forth to 
fight for the White Tzar. He receives about two pounds fif¬ 
teen shillings a year from the State, and is obliged to keep his 
kit in repair with this sum, which the military authorities say 
is sufficient for the purpose, although the soldiers are of a dif¬ 
ferent opinion. 

These data were given me by the artillery captain, who, leav¬ 
ing his companion asleep in the tarantass, occasionally stretch¬ 
ed his legs by walking a few versts over the snow. He had 
seen a good deal of service in Turkistan, and expected very 
shortly to obtain his promotion. Among other things, he told 
me that when Russia was at war with Bokhara, a Cossack offi¬ 
cer was taken prisoner. The Emir sent for him, and asked if 
he could make powder. He said, “Yes, but not for them.” 
On their asking why, he declared that it was manufactured 
with brandy and pigs’ fat, and that this made the powder so 
strong. “ The Emir,” continued my companion, “ regards the 
Sultan with feelings of the greatest veneration, and has the 
honorary title of Grand Officer to the Porte. He used to look 
upon England as the first nation in the world; but he is begin¬ 
ning to fear us now, and he believes more in our troops, who 
are close at hand, than in those of the Sultan at Stamboul.” 

It was getting late, and Yanuslieff gave strict orders to the 
sentry who was posted over the horses to awake him an hour 
after midnight. The man, however, neglected his duty, and 
was punished by having to walk the whole of the next day 
and lead his horse, the culprit being much laughed at by the 
other Cossacks, who look down upon all foot-soldiers with su¬ 
preme contempt. 

It was a picturesque sight, the march from this encampment. 
First, the Cossacks, the barrels of their carbines gleaming in 


WHIPPING A CAMEL-DRIVER. 


2 95 


tlie moonlight, the vashlik of a conical shape, surmounting each 
man’s low cap, and giving a ghastly appearance to the riders, 
the distorted shadows reflected on the snow beneath, and ap¬ 
pearing like a detachment of gigantic phantoms pursuing our 
little force. Then the tarantass, drawn by two huge camels, 
which slowly plowed their way through the heavy track, the 
driver nodding on his box but half awake, the two officers in 
the arms of Morpheus inside, and the heavy wood-work creak¬ 
ing at each stride of the enormous quadrupeds. In the wake 
of this vehicle strode the baggage camels, the officers’ servants 
fast asleep on the backs of their animals, one man lying with 
his face to the tail, and snoring hard in spite of the continued 
movement; another fellow lay stretched across his saddle, ap¬ 
parently a good deal the worse for drink: he shouted out at 
intervals the strains of a Bacchanalian ditty. Nazar, who was 
always hungry, could be seen walking in the rear. He had 
kept back a bone from the evening meal, and was gnawing 
it like a dog, his strong jaws snapping as they closed on the 
fibrous mutton. 

I generally remained by our bivouac fire an hour or so after 
the rest of the party had marched, and, seated by the side of 
the glowing embers, watched the caravan as it vanished slowly 
in the distance. 

My guide was utterly crest-fallen; he had been severely rep¬ 
rimanded at the fort for taking me to Khiva, and was now kept 
in such order by the Cossacks that his usual air of importance 
had entirely disappeared. 

Yanusheff had already given his camel-driver an idea of dis¬ 
cipline. The man had been very dilatory in saddling the cam¬ 
els. My companion, observing this, called a Cossack, and or¬ 
dered him to beat the refractory individual. Seeing, however, 
that the whipping was not sufficiently severe, the captain took 
the knout from him, and with his own hand administered the 
chastisement, at the same time telling the soldier that if this 
occurred again he should order him to be beaten by his own 
comrades for not carrying out orders properly. 

We now arrived at a spot on the road where the snow was 
so deep that the camels were unable to draw the vehicle: in 


296 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


this dilemma the Cossacks proved useful; for, attaching some 
lassoes to the tarantass, and spurring their horses, they succeed¬ 
ed in dragging it slowly forward. At this place we met a 
Kirghiz who was taking the post to Petro-Alexandrovsk. He 
rode one horse and led another, carrying his letters, food, and 
forage on the spare animal. The man, however, would change 
his horses every two or three hours, and expected to arrive at 
Petro-Alexandrovsk in about ten days from the time he had 
left Perovsky—the next fort the Russians liold on the Oren¬ 
burg and Tashkent line, after passing Kasala. 

On the following day we rode by an old Kirghiz chapel, 
built in memory of some celebrated warrior. It was used in 
summer-time for praying, and in winter as a sheep-pen, the 
Kirghiz being indifferent about such matters. Finally we ar¬ 
rived at a landmark known as being seventeen miles from Ka¬ 
sala. 

Yanusheff and I now determined to let the camels follow us, 
and to gallop on ourselves ahead of the caravan. The Cossack 
officer resolved to do the same. My companions selected the 
best horses they could find from amidst the escort, at the same 
time ordering the dismounted Cossacks to ride the camels. 
The snow still slightly covered the ground, but not enough to 
stop our animals, which, probably knowing that they were close 
to home, raced against each other the whole way, when we gal¬ 
loped across the Syr Darya and pulled up at Morozoff’s hostel¬ 
ry at twelve o’clock midday, February 12th. 

We had ridden 536 versts, or 357 miles, in exactly nine days 
and two hours, thus averaging about thirty-nine miles a day! 
At the same time, it must be remembered that, with an interval 
of in all not more than nine days’ rest, my horse had previous¬ 
ly carried me 500 miles. In London, judging by his size, he 
would have been put down as a Polo pony. In spite of the 
twenty stone he carried, he had never been either sick or lame 
during the journey, and had galloped the last seventeen miles 
through the snow to Kasala in one hour and twenty-five min¬ 
utes. 

A room was unoccupied at the inn. It was not a very lux¬ 
urious apartment, the furniture consisting of a rickety table, a 


AN EMEUTE AMONG THE URALSK COSSACKS. 297 

few chairs, and a wooden sofa or divan; however, it was like 
Mohammed’s seventh heaven, after the steppes. 

A young officer who was residing at the inn now entered the 
room, and told me all that occurred since my departure. There 
had been a duel, in which several officers had participated, and 
he had been under arrest in consequence. 

An emeute had taken place among the Uralsk Cossacks. It 
appeared that the two thousand exiles had become very discon¬ 
tented at the way in which they had been treated, and from 
grumbling had proceeded to threats: some of them had been 
overheard, and it was said that a few of the malcontents had 
expressed a wish to cut the throats of all the officers in the 
fort. As the Uralsk Cossacks outnumbered the garrison, and 
the officers slept in private lodgings, and not in barracks, it was 
perfectly possible that the exiles might be able to carry their 
threat into execution. For several nights each officer had a 
guard stationed round his quarters. The district governor had 
reported the affair to the governor-general at Tashkent. The 
latter officer had dispatched one of his subordinate generals, 
with full powers of life and death, to investigate the matter, 
and reports said that several of the malcontents were to be 
shot. 

Among the many rumors which were rife at Kasala, was one 
to the effect that the Tzarevitch would probably visit Tashkent 
in the course of the summer, when he would perhaps join in an 
expedition to be dispatched against Kashgar. It was remarked 
that a campaign against Yakoob Bek would afford the prince 
a capital opportunity for winning his Cross of St. George, a 
military order which must be won on the field of battle, and 
which the Tzar wears. 

In confirmation of the rumors of a summer campaign, it was 
stated that a division of 10,000 men from the Orenburg dis¬ 
trict was now on the march to Tashkent. This was a source 
of annoyance to some of the officers in Turkistan, who did not 
like the idea of the field for gaining crosses and promotion be¬ 
ing too much enlarged. In their opinion, the forces then in 
Central Asia were ample for any that might be dispatched 
against Yakoob Bek. 


13 * 


298 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


CHAPTER XXXVII. 

The District Governor.—A Cossack Colonel’s Funeral.—The Island in the 
Sea of Aral.—How to join the Amu Darya and Syr Darya Rivers.— 
My Quarters in Morozoff’s Inn.—Letter from General Kolpakovsky.— 
Changing Money.—English Sovereigns.—Sale of Horses.—A Jew and 
a Greek.—Sympathy between the Russians and the Greeks.—A Rich 
Young Kirghiz Widow.—Love-making through a Third Party.—A Boy- 
husband.—Cossacks marching from Orenburg.—Nazar’s Father-in-law. 
—The Commander of the Battery.—Dispatches sent from Tashkent to 
St. Petersburg in Twelve Days.—A Fat Goose. 

I now called upon the district governor, and found him at 
home, surrounded by a bevy of officers in full uniform. He 
told me that a Cossack colonel had recently died of consump¬ 
tion, and that the funeral ceremony was then going on inside 
the church. The men of the regiment were all mounted, and 
drawn up facing the holy edifice. The cold was very great, 
and the troops had every facility afforded them for sowing the 
seeds of their colonel’s malady. Indeed, the frost was so se¬ 
vere that the district governor and his friends had found it in¬ 
convenient to remain inside the church, and had returned to 
drink tea at home, until such time as the service was concluded. 

Among the guests was a naval officer who had frequently 
cruised in the Sea of Aral: he said that there was an island in 
it which was forty miles round, and that no fresh water could 
be discovered, although antelopes and foxes abounded. Some 
sheep had been turned out on the island a year previous, but 
since that time no one had seen them ; while, according to my 
informant, there were hardly any rocks in the Sea of Aral, and 
navigation was not at all dangerous. 

The possibility of gaining the Amu Darya and Syr Darya 
by means of the Jana Darya was next discussed; but most of 
the officers seemed to think that in this case there would be too 
little water left in the Syr Darya for the steamers to pass from 
Orenburg to Tashkent. 


morozoff’s inn. 


299 


When I had the opportunity of speaking privately to the 
governor, I inquired if he had received any communication 
with reference to the letter which I had dispatched from Petro- 
Alexandrovsk to the commander-in-chief at Tashkent, in which 
letter I had asked to be allowed to return to European Russia 
via Western Siberia. However, the Fates were unpropitious; 
no reply had been sent, and I had to return to the inn without 
any knowledge as to what would be my next movements. 

My quarters at Morozoff’s were not quite what a Sybarite 
would have selected, unless, like myself, he had been confined 
to Hobson’s choice. The pipes of the stove were out of order, 
and when heated there was an escape of charcoal-gas into the 
room I inhabited, a frightful headache being the consequence. 
If, on the contrary, I desired the servant not to light the stove, 
furs had to be worn day and night to keep out the cold. 

The waiter was the most phlegmatic of his species. When 
I complained of the gas, lie never moved a muscle of his coun¬ 
tenance, hut simply observed, “ One of noble birth, at Morozoff’s 
it is always so and if I upbraided him on account of the cold, 
he returned a similar answer. 

Yanusheff now came to say good-bye. He had not been 
able to find any good artillery horses at Kasala. He intended 
to start the following morning for a large village in the neigh¬ 
borhood of Perovsky, and visit the sultan of the district, a 
Kirghiz chief, who owned 1500 horses. 

Yanusheff was going to dine out on that evening; and as he 
had a large sum of money which he had brought to purchase 
the necessary animals, and did not care to carry it about with 
him, he asked me to take care of his rubles until he returned 
from dinner. I could not help remarking that he was placing 
a singular amount of confidence in a stranger, particularly as 
there were several Russian officers at the inn; but I agreed to 
take charge of the money, as he said he preferred leaving it in 
my care. The following morning I saw my fellow-traveler for 
a moment, and returned him the packet. He was in his sleigh, 
en route for Perovsky, and we cordially shook hands. I parted 
from him with regret: he was an agreeable companion, besides 
being a well-read and highly intelligent man. 


300 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


i 


A little later in tlie day I received a letter from General 
Kolpakovsky. It was to this effect: that as I had received 
orders to return immediately to European Russia, he could not 
sanction my proposed journey via Tashkent and Western Si¬ 
beria, for this would not be the shortest route; and that the 
permission which I had received from General Milutin to travel 
in Russian Asia had been canceled. Presuming that the rea¬ 
sons given would convince me of the necessity of my immedi¬ 
ate return to European Russia by the postal road to Orenburg, 
he asked me to believe in his complete respect, and had the 
honor of being, etc., etc. The letter was very conclusive, and 
there was nothing to be done save to pack up my traps, order 
horses, and start for Orenburg. 

The district governor now called; he had also received a let¬ 
ter insisting on my immediate departure from Kasala. Al¬ 
though it was a holiday, and all the official departments were 
closed, he said that he would at once send to get me a podo- 
rojnaya (a road pass). 

I wanted to change some gold before I started on my jour¬ 
ney. A Bokharan offered to take a few of the Russian half¬ 
imperial pieces, but on looking at them he refused to give the 
same value for all the coins, as some of them were three and 
four years old, and this, in his opinion, deteriorated their value. 
I eventually disposed of my half-imperials, and also of a few 
English sovereigns, to the district governor. These were look¬ 
ed upon as a curiosity by the Russian officers in Central Asia, 
and whenever it became known that I possessed some, every 
body was eager to change them for me. 

The sleigh was packed; the horses were prancing at the 
door; I had paid my bill, and sold my horses, etc. My little 
black had not been a dear purchase. I bought him for forty 
rubles (about five pounds), and had sold him for three pounds 
ten shillings. He had carried me over 900 miles, and I had no 
reason to complain of my bargain. 

Getting into the coffin-like sleigh, I said farewell to my 
friends. A wild huzza from the Tartar driver to stimulate his 
horses, accompanied by a stinging reminder from his whip, and 
we were off. 


PRESENTATION OF A BEAUTIFUL KIRGHIZ WIDOW. 301 


Later on I met a Jew and a Greek, who were going to Tash¬ 
kent. The latter, when I inquired how he had obtained per¬ 
mission to travel in Central Asia, told me that on arriving in 
Russia he had a Greek passport, hut after a little while he man¬ 
aged to procure a Russian one, and was then permitted to cross 
the Ural. The Jew was a Russian subject, so of course no dif¬ 
ficulties had been thrown in his way. 

There is a great deal of sympathy between the Russians and 
Greeks, probably owing to the hatred these powers bear the 
Porte, and to their similarity in religion. The character of the 
inhabitants of both these countries is also strongly marked with 
Oriental peculiarities, the Russian being of a highly suspicious 
nature. The Greek is equally suspicious, but he has more 
brains, and is sure to get the best of the Muscovite in a bar¬ 
gain. 

On arriving at another station, the inspector informed me 
that a rich young Kirghiz widow was in the waiting-room. 
He wished to know whether I had any objection to her pres¬ 
ence, as some Russian travelers disliked the natives sharing the 
same apartment with them. To this I replied by sending the 
lady a formal invitation through Nazar, who was desired to 
say that an English traveler had heard of her presence in the 
station, and hoped that she would drink tea with him. 

Nazar departed with a broad grin on his countenance, this 
attention on my part to the young widow of the steppes strik 
ing him as rather remarkable. “ One of noble blood,” he re 
marked, as he quitted the room, “ you can not marry her; she 
is of a different religion.” Presently he returned, leading in a 
decidedly good-looking and prepossessing girl, apparently about 
eighteen years of age. She was clad in a long gray dressing- 
gown, her tiny feet being incased in Chinese slippers; and her 
head covered with many yards of white silk, worn in the form 
of a turban. 

On my offering her a chair, she sat down, and by the means 
of Nazar we speedily commenced a conversation. 

There are a good many ways of telling a woman she is pret¬ 
ty, but it is always difficult to do so through a third party; 
and the compliments which I paid her in Russian I have no 


302 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


doubt lost considerably in being translated into Tartar, though 
Nazar assured me that the expressions he selected were the 
most poetical with which he was acquainted. 

As, however, his ideas of poetry were, like my late guide’s, 
limited to songs about the beauty of a sheep and the delights 
of roast mutton, I fear that when he was desired to tell her 
that she was the most beautiful of her sex, Nazar translated it 
as follows: 

“ He says ‘ that thou art lovelier than a sheep with a fat tail ’ ” 
(this appendage being a great delicacy among the Tartars); 
‘ ‘ that thy face is the roundest in the flock; and that thy 
breath is sweeter to him than many pieces of mutton roasted 
over bright embers.’ ” 

On Nazar informing her that I was not married, she was a 
little astonished, and then observed that she was not married, 
but would be so in two vears’ time. 

It appeared that, according to the laws of her tribe, she must 
become the wife of her late husband’s brother. The latter was 
only twelve years of age, and she would have to wait till the 
boy was fourteen before the marriage could take place. The 
lady did not much like the idea of so young a husband, and 
was curious to know how widows managed in my country, be¬ 
ing very much surprised when I told her that they chose for 
themselves. 

A few hours sped away very agreeably as I was chatting 
with the fair widow, when her future husband, a cliubby-faced 
lad, entered the room, and announced that the camels were 
read}q and that it was time for them to start for their aul. 

On receiving this information, she gave the boy a sharp 
stroke across the shoulder, but left the room; and the future 
husband will doubtless get many a whipping from her previous 
to their marriage, which he will probably pay back with inter¬ 
est at some later period. 

On nearing Orsk, I learned from an inspector that 800 Cos¬ 
sacks had already left Orenburg, and were on their way to Tash¬ 
kent, and he added that he had received orders to have some 
kibitkas pitched for them close to the station-house. Many 
more battalions would shortly follow, and they would have 


FILTHINESS OF A TARTAR BEDROOM. 


303 


been at Orsk before if it bad not been for tbe weather, which 
this winter had been more severe than he ever remembered to 
have experienced, several Tartar drivers having been frozen to 
death. 

Nazar now informed me that his wife lived at a small village 
a few miles from Orenburg, with her father; and, as my little 
Tartar was very eager to see his lady, I promised to halt there 
for the night. We drove up to his house about 12 p.m. The 
inmates, who were not aware of Nazar’s return, had all gone to 
sleep. My follower tried the door; it was bolted; then he 
hammered against the portals. 

After about five minutes thus spent waiting in the cold, his 
father-in-law came out, and, hearing that I had arrived, asked me 
to sleep there for the night. In the mean time, Nazar’s wife, 
who was a good deal taller than himself, had got up, and was 
welcoming her husband. On looking around me, I found that 
only one room was well warmed, and that the others had no 
stoves. The bedroom was occupied by Nazar’s father-in-law, 
his wife, their daughter, and two other children. Nazar would 
sleep with them. I felt that my presence might be slightly de 
trop , although Tartars, as a rule, are not particular about pri¬ 
vacy. The apartment was in a filthy state; and thousands of 
cockroaches were crawling about on some wooden platforms, 
which served as beds for the family. 

The room did not offer any attractions, so I determined to 
leave my servant and drive on to the next station. This was 
filled with travelers. The commander of a battery, and a sur¬ 
geon of artillery, with their families, occupied all the available 
space; so the inspector took me to his own quarters, where his 
wife was sleeping, the woman looking up with a smile as I en¬ 
tered, not being at all disconcerted by the presence of a stran¬ 
ger. 

In the morning I made the acquaintance of the commander 
of the battery and his wife; they were traveling in a large 
sleigh, and were many versts in front of the troops. The com¬ 
mander had occasionally carried dispatches from Tashkent to 
St. Petersburg, and on one occasion he performed the journey 
in twelve days. He remarked that he could post from Tash- 


304 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


kent to Samarcand in one day and a quarter, and could be in 
Bokhara in five days after leaving Tashkent. 

Nazar now arrived with his father-in-law, the latter bringing 
a fat goose, which he laid down at my feet. Nazar informed 
me that this was his way of showing respect, remarking that it 
was a fat bird, and that he would eat it if I did not. The fa¬ 
ther-in-law could speak a little Russian, and inquired about Na¬ 
zar’s moral behavior during his journey, patting the little Tar¬ 
tar on the back when I said that his conduct had been most 
exemplary, and that to the best of my belief he had not brought 
back a Khivan lady. 

Not far from this station we met two companies of infant¬ 
ry on the march to Tashkent. They were all in sleighs, some 
drawn by camels, others by horses, five and six men being in 
each vehicle. The troops were being hurried on as rapidly as 
possible. The men seemed to be young and healthy, and were 
singing in chorus to pass away the tedious hours. Later on, 
when passing through a village, we encountered more soldiers, 
several of them much the worse for drink. 

The officers with the troops had brought all sorts of reports 
from Orenburg, the last rumor being that Kryjinovsky was to 
be the governor-general at Tashkent, Kauffmann to be minister 
of war, and Milutin to be commander-in-chief in the Caucasus. 


ASTONISHING IGNORANCE OF A RUSSIAN INSPECTOR. 305 


CHAPTER XXXYIII. 

An Inquisitive Inspector.—“ Will England cede us Kashgar ?”—The For¬ 
tress Afghan.—“Are the English Christians?”—“Have you Images?” 

—“And yet you call yourselves Christians.”—The Bath in Uralsk.—No 

one washed on a Friday.—The Chief of the Police.—A Murderer.—His 

Punishment.—The Ural Cossacks.—Sizeran.—Good-bye to Nazar. 

I had made up my mind not to stop at Orenburg, but con¬ 
tinue my journey straight to Uralsk, a large town on the Ural 
River, the capital of the district from which the Cossacks in 
Kasala had been so recently banished. Uralsk was off the 
main road to Sizeran, but by taking this route I should have 
the opportunity of seeing a new line of country. 

The following day I encountered an inspector who was more 
suspicious than any I had previously encountered. 

He looked at my pass—“ So you have come from Khiva ?” 

“ Yes.” 

“ You are English?” 

“ Yes.” 

Here the man looked at me very fixedly, and continued, 
“Will England cede [ oostoopit ] us Kashgar?” 

This question rather amused me, and I replied, pointing to 
a horse that was being led by the station, “ Will you cede that 
horse to me?” 

“ He is not my property,” said the man, looking a little as¬ 
tonished at the question. 

“ Well, Kashgar is not an English possession, and how can 
we cede to Russia what does not belong to ourselves ?” 

“ Then England will not fight with us about Kashgar ?” in¬ 
quired the inspector. 

“ I really don’t know, but I wish she would,” I replied, be¬ 
coming a little annoyed by this evident attempt at cross-exam¬ 
ination. “ Anyhow,” I continued, “ if you put your noses into 
Afghanistan, you will very likely get them pulled for you.” 


306 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


“ Afghan !” said the man; “ oh, very good!” and, taking a 
piece of paper, he wrote down: “ If Russia should take the For¬ 
tress Afghan \Krapost Afghan ] there will then be war between 
England and Russia. I have noted your words down,” he said. 

“ So I see,” was my remark; “ but Afghan is not a for¬ 
tress.” 

“ That does not signify,” said the inspector; “ it is some¬ 
thing* and you have said that if we take it there will very like- 
lv be war.” 

A friend of his now entered the room, and asked a good 
many questions about England. 

“Are the English Christians?” he inquired. 

“ Yes.” 

“ Have you images \obrazye\ like those ?” pointing to some 
tawdry pictures of saints which hung on the wall. 

“No; we do not believe in images.” 

“ And yet you call yourselves Christians!” said the man, the 
Protestant religion instantly falling one hundred per cent, in 
his estimation. 

“ Do you believe in Christ ?” 

“ Yes.” 

“ And in the saints ?” 

“ No; not as being able to perform miracles in our own days, 
whatever they might have done before.” 

“ Horrible!” said the man; “ you are as bad as the Moham¬ 
medans.” 

The distance from Orenburg to Uralsk is about 280 versts. 
On arriving at the last-mentioned town, I drove to the inn. It 
was tolerably clean, although bed-linen was a luxury unknown 
to the proprietor. 

My first inquiry was for a bath, and not being able to obtain 
this article on the premises, I drove off to the bathing establish¬ 
ment. Here I was told that no washing could be done on that 
day, for it was a Friday, and not a washing-day. No one in 
Uralsk ever washed on a Friday, and if I wanted a bath I must 
come there the next afternoon. The offer of four times the 
usual price had no effect on the proprietor, and in return to my 
entreaties the man merely exclaimed, “ Little father, go away: 


TYING A PRISONER TO A CROSS. 


307 


to-morrow the bath will be beautiful and hot. Go away, for 
the sake of God, and do not be angry.” 

On returning to the hotel, I found that the Chief of the Po¬ 
lice in the town had already been to see me, and had left word 
that he would call again. Shortly afterward he was announced, 
when in the course of conversation he told me that he had 
heard of my being likely to visit Uralsk, having received the 
information from Orenburg. 

The next morning Nazar came into my room with a beam¬ 
ing countenance. “ We shall have such a spectacle to-day, and 
all for nothing!” he said ; “ a man is to be beaten to death. Let 
us go to the market-place; a scaffold has been erected there.” 
On inquiry, I learned that a Kirghiz had murdered a Cossack 
officer about twelve months previous, and that the assassin had 
been found guilty, and was to be punished. On arriving in the 
square, we found the ground partly occupied by a scaffold, on 
which stood a large, solid, black cross. A few ropes and cords 
were lying on the platform; the scaffold was surrounded by 
lines of infantry, who kept the people off, and from time to 
time dropped the butt-end of their rifles on the toes of the by¬ 
standers, if they attempted to approach too closely. 

Presently a low hum, which gradually swelled to a deep bass 
roar, announced that the cortege with the prisoner was in sight. 
The culprit could be plainly seen mounted on a block of wood, 
placed in a dirty old cart, which was drawn by a mule ; aguard 
of soldiers followed the criminal, while an escort went in front 
and opened out a road through the crowd of by-standers. On 
arriving at the platform, the prisoner was made to ascend it. 
He turned deadly pale when he saw the cross, but, quickly re¬ 
covering himself, his countenance resumed its original expres¬ 
sion, and, carelessly looking at the people, he nodded to some 
of his acquaintances. 

The officer in command of the soldiers now gave an order, 
and two of the men, seizing the prisoner, tied him up to the 
cross. A magistrate, who was standing on the scaffold, took a 
document from his pocket and commenced reading the pro¬ 
ceedings of the trial and the sentence, which was to the effect 
that the culprit would be sent to Siberia. 


308 


A RIDE TO KHIVA. 


The man did not move a muscle of his face as the sentence 
was read out, but Nazar was considerably disappointed. “ And 
so we are to have no performance,” said the blood-thirsty little 
Tartar; “ it is too bad of the authorities cheating us in this 
way.” 

Capital punishment has been abolished throughout European 
Russia, save for treason; however, it must not be thought that 
on this account the culprits are more leniently dealt with. 
Forced labor in the mines of Siberia rapidly puts an end to the 
criminal’s existence, and it is said that the strongest man will 
succumb after two or three years’ confinement. 

The inhabitants of Uralsk, who had most of them some 
near relation or dear friend in exile in Central Asia, were so de¬ 
pressed that they hardly ventured to look us in the face as we 
met them in the streets. Some of the Ural Cossacks were said 
to be still in hiding, and waiting for an opportunity to escape 
from the country; but their fate could not be doubtful for a 
moment. When the cold season was over they would be caught, 
and dispatched in gangs to their relations in Kasala. 

Such are the delights of living in a country where despotism 
rules paramount. Such is the civilization which certain people 
in England are eager to see forced upon the inhabitants of 
Central Asia. 

There was nothing of note to be seen at Uralsk, so I left for 
Sizeran. This was reached after a thirty-six hours’ continuous 
journey. It was the middle of March; my sleigh journey was 
now over. Shaking hands with the faithful little Tartar, who 
had accompanied me to the last, I said good-bye to him, and, 
so far as my travels are concerned, must say farewell to the 
reader. 


APPENDIX A. 


THE RUSSIAN ADVANCE EASTWARD. 

The same rule which applies to natural phenomena is equal¬ 
ly applicable to nations: the smaller body has a tendency to 
gravitate toward the greater, and the tribe, khanate, or king¬ 
dom, to the more powerful empire which it adjoins. 

Russia, in the days of her weakness, was overrun and domi¬ 
nated to a great extent by her warlike neighbors, the Tartars. 
She is repaying them in their own coin. 

Forty years ago she had taken from Persia 70,000 and from 
Tartary 270,000 square miles of territory; since that time she 
has conquered the Bokharans—Khiva and Kokan; while her 
frontier is rapidly striding forward toward the Hindoo Koosh. 

During the early part of this century she had stretched out 
a long line of outposts—let us call it her left arm—in the direc¬ 
tion of Western Siberia, and had gradually penetrated farther 
and farther until she spread herself nearly over its entire ex¬ 
tent. Military settlements, forts, and chains of detached posts 
extended from the rivers Ural and Irtish to the valley of the 
river Ili; while her right arm, but half extended, reached from 
Orenburg to Orsk, and then by the north of the Sea of Aral 
to Fort Perovsky, which is about two hundred miles from the 
mouth of the Syr Darya, the Jaxartes of ancient history. 

This extension of the right arm had been attended with nu- 
merous difficulties. The line of strongholds stretching from 
Fort Orsk to Zvarinogolovsk had cut off from the Kirghiz of 
the Little Horde their best grazing ground. It had been given 
to some Cossacks. An endless feud ensued between the new 
and the old occupants. It is impossible, if you are bent upon 



310 


APPENDIX. 


conquest and despoliation, to prevent those nations which feel 
themselves aggrieved from resorting to hostilities. 

As Russia stretched her right arm past the north of the Sea 
of Aral, the Kokandians and Khivans became alarmed. Would 
they not too some day have to succumb ? 

The Bokharans, Khivans, and Kokandians felt, thirty years 
ago, as Russophobists in India feel in the present day. Which 
was the best course for the Kokandians and Bokharans to pur¬ 
sue—to check the invader’s progress at the outset, or allow him 
to establish his depots and push forward to their frontier? 

They elected the former. Constant raids were made on the 
Kirghiz — now Russian subjects — and the Russians captured 
the enemy’s stronghold, Ak Mechet. The name of the victo¬ 
rious general was given to this fort, henceforward known as 
Perovsky. Forts Numbers One, Two, and Three were then 
built at Kasala and on the sites of two Kokan forts. Thus 
was founded the Syr Darya line, the extremity of the half-bent 
right arm which Russia was gradually extending toward Tash¬ 
kent. 

In spite of the chain of forts which stretched along the 
Western Siberian and the Syr Darya lines, the country between 
them was only half subdued. It was felt that the newly ac¬ 
quired territory could not be deemed thoroughly secure until 
the two lines joined. The right hand must grasp its fellow of 
the left ere the wished-for result could be obtained. 

In 1854 a committee of officers was ordered to assemble and 
deliberate on this proposed step. It was then stated that the 
junction could not be effected without having a collision with 
Kokan and Bokhara, which would eventually lead to the sub¬ 
jection of these khanates. This idea was not displeasing to 
the authorities at St. Petersburg, and it was determined to join 
the Syr Darya and Western Siberian lines. 

The Crimean war now came on, and occupied all Russia’s 
attention. But as soon as peace was proclaimed, preparations 
were at once commenced for carrying the original proposal 
into execution. 

The Hi was crossed, the Kokan forts Pishpek and Tokmak 
were destroyed by General Zimmermann, and forts Vernoe and 


THE RUSSIAN ADVANCE EASTWARD. 311 

Kastek constructed at the base of the Tian Shan range. This 
was between 1854 and 1860. Armed reconnoissances were next 
made of the district lying between the Chu River and the 
Aulieta fort. The fingers of the left hand had not been idle; 
they were gradually circling round in the direction of the Syr 
Darya. The right arm, which in 1859 had reached forward to 
Djulek, where a fort had been constructed, was pushed onward 
to Yany-Kurgan. The Syr Darya valley and Karatau mount¬ 
ains had been carefully surveyed. 

Every thing was prepared for uniting the two lines, and it 
was determined that simultaneous movements should be made 
by Major-general Tchernayeff with the Siberian army, and by 
Verevkin with the Orenburg troops. The former was to oc¬ 
cupy Aulieta, the latter to march from Djulek along the Kara¬ 
tau ridge, and to take possession of Suzak and Chulak Kurgan. 

General Verevkin thought that it would be more satisfactory 
if the frontier line embraced the town of Turkistan, thus push¬ 
ing forward the boundary 130 miles beyond Djulek; but Gen¬ 
eral Tchernayeff — thinking that as it was a mere question of 
advancing the frontier eastward, the more territory secured 
for Russia the better — suggested that the line should include 
Chemkent, a Kokan fort 100 miles beyond Turkistan, or 230 
from Djulek. This proposal was duly carried into execution. 

There had been but little bloodshed on the Russian side. 
The large towns of Turkistan and Chemkent had been taken 
at the expense of about fifty killed and wounded. The loss 
experienced by the Kokandians, according to the official ac¬ 
counts, was immense. 

This was satisfactory to the Russian military authorities, but 
indecision still reigned at St. Petersburg as to how far the lim¬ 
its of the empire should be extended. On the 30th of July 
the following general order was published: 

“ His Imperial Majesty has been pleased to command that all the forts 
erected on the newly occupied extent of country from the river Chu to 
the Svr Darya as far as the Kokan Fort,* Yany-Kurgan inclusive, be 
considered as temporarily forming a new Kokan line of frontier, to the 


* Between Djulek and Turkistan. 



312 


APPENDIX. 


command of which his Majesty has been pleased to appoint Major-general 
Tchernayeff, who is to have chief command of all the troops along it; 
those of Western Siberia as well as those of the Orenburg region.” 

General Tchernayeff took possession of Chemkent on the 
22d of September. The news of his success soon reached St. 
Petersburg, and on the 21st of November the same year (1864) 
the world was favored with Prince Gortschakoff’s dispatch. 
The chancellor states in the first article of this celebrated doc¬ 
ument : 

“ It has been judged indispensable that our two lines of frontier, one 
reaching from China to Lake Issyk Kul, the other from the Sea of Aral 
along the Syr Darya, should be united by fortified points, so that all our 
ports may be in a position to mutually support each other.” 

The chancellor continues in the third article: 

“We have adopted the line between Lake Issyk Kul and the Syr Darya, 
besides fortifying Chemkent, which has been recently taken by us. We 
find ourselves in the presence of a more solid, compact, less unsettled, and 
better organized social state, fixing for us with geographical precision the 
limit up to which we are bound to advance, and at which we must halt, 
because, on the one hand, any farther extension of our rule, meeting, as it 
would, no longer with unstable communities such as the nomad tribes, but 
with more regularly constituted tribes, would entail considerable exertions, 
and would draw us on from annexation to annexation with complications 
which can not be foreseen. It is unnecessary for me to call attention to 
the evident interest that Russia has in not extending her territory. Of 
late years people have been pleased to assign to Russia the mission of civ¬ 
ilizing the countries which are her neighbors in the Continent of Asia. 
The advancement of civilization has no agent more efficient than commer¬ 
cial relations. These last, to become developed, require order and stabili¬ 
ty, but in Asia this necessitates complete change of customs. Asiatics 
must be made to understand that it is more to their interest to favor and 
insure the trade of caravans than to pillage them. These elementary no¬ 
tions can only penetrate the public conscience when there is a social or¬ 
ganism and a government which directs and represents it. We accom¬ 
plish the first part of this task in advancing our frontier to the limit where 
these indispensable conditions are to be found. We accomplish the sec¬ 
ond by endeavoring henceforth to prove to the neighboring states by a 
firm system, so far as the suppression of their ill-dealings is concerned, 
but at the same time by moderation and justice in the employment of 
force, and by respecting their independence, that Russia is not their enemy, 
that she nourishes toward them no ideas of conquest, and that pacific and 
commercial relations will be more profitable than disorder, pillage, repris¬ 
als, and permanent warfare. In consecrating itself to this task, the Impe- 


THE RUSSIAN ADVANCE EASTWARD. 


313 


rial Cabinet is inspired by Russian interests. It believes that, at the same 
time it serves the interests of civilization and humanity, it has the right to 
count on an equitable and loyal appreciation of the steps which it pursues, 
and of the principles by which it is guided.” 

After the promulgation of this dispatch, it seemed clear that 
the Imperial Government at St. Petersburg had set its face 
against any farther annexation in the East; that Chemkent 
was the limit of its boundary-line, and that the authorities at 
St. Petersburg were really desirous to live at peace with the in¬ 
habitants of Central Asia; that the Cossack swords were to be 
turned into reaping-hooks, and that every thing was to be done 
to promote commerce and the interests of civilization. The 
millennium had apparently commenced in Russia. The Cos¬ 
sacks and Kokandians were to stroke beards and lie down 
peacefully side by side. This would have been a most refresh¬ 
ing spectacle, and the peace-at-any-price party in England went 
into raptures at the idea. However, it was not so pleasing to 
the governor-generals who represented the emperor in the 
Orenburg and Western Siberian districts. The dispatch was 
diametrically opposite to the system which, according to Mr. 
Venukoff, has always been adopted by Russia in her dealings 
with Eastern nations. We can not be surprised that the gen¬ 
erals looked upon Prince Gortschakoff’s literary composition as 
so much waste paper, in so far as they were concerned, and in¬ 
tended merely to blind the eyes of Europe to the ulterior in¬ 
tentions of their Government. 

Colonel Venukoff, in his military review, observes : “ In Cen¬ 
tral Asia, that is to say, there where it is easy to apply the 
principle divide et impera, by making use of the rival antago¬ 
nisms of the Bashkirs, Kirghiz, and Calmucks, the Orenburg 
and Siberian governors have taken for their guidance the rule 
to weaken each one of these troublesome nations by the means 
of the others.” Thus it would seem that the promotion of dis¬ 
cord amidst their neighbors was much more likely to be the 
policy pursued by the conquerors of Turkistan than the pro¬ 
motion of peace, commerce, and civilization. 

At all events, General Tchernayeff, who directed the military 
operations in Turkistan, did not think that he was bound to 

14 


314 


APPENDIX. 


maintain peaceful relations with the inhabitants of Tashkent, 
a large town containing 78,165 inhabitants, and seventy miles 
from Chemkent; for, considering it necessary to obtain a more 
intimate* knowledge of the state of affairs in Tashkent before 
the winter set in, the general advanced upon that city. In this 
reconnoissance, on the assumption that the numerous but un¬ 
warlike population would not be able, suddenly attacked, to 
defend the entire length of their walls (about sixteen miles), 
Tchernayeff stormed the most accessible part of the town. 
Contrary, however, to expectation, the attempt failed. 

It is a strange way of living at peace with your neighbor— 
first making a military reconnoissance of his city, then playful¬ 
ly throwing a few shells within the walls, and finally storming 
the most accessible part of the town. Indeed, if we take Gen¬ 
eral Tchernayeff’s own report, we find that the reasons assigned 
by him for his attack upon Tashkent are singularly vague. 
He writes, in a dispatch to the minister of war, which is dated 
the 19th October, 1864, “At last, as I have already had the 
honor of acquainting your Excellency, information was received, 
which has subsequently been confirmed, that Tashkent had en¬ 
tered into relations with the Ameer of Bokhara.” 

Now, Bokhara was at peace with Russia, and the authorities 
at St. Petersburg wished to live at peace with their neighbors; 
so the reason which is given by General Tchernayeff for his at¬ 
tack upon Tashkent is not very satisfactory. Some European 
statesmen thought that this little ebullition of feeling on the 
part of General Tchernayeff would have been followed by the 
authorities at St. Petersburg gently remonstrating with the en¬ 
ergetic warrior. However, the Russian minister of war was at 
that time so soothed by the peaceful notes in Prince Gortsclia- 
koff’s declaration, that he could not find it in his heart even to 
forward a reprimand. The Government contented itself by re¬ 
fusing to give its sanction to the general’s project of conquer¬ 
ing Tashkent, but took care to furnish him without loss of 
time with strong re-enforcements, on the plea that it would 
then be easier to defend the district already occupied. 


* See General Romanovsky’s “ Notes on Central Asia.” 




THE RUSSIAN ADVANCE EASTWARD. 


315 


In an order of the day from the minister of war, dated 12th 
of February, 1865, we read: “The advanced line established 
last year in the Trans-Chii region is to be connected with the 
line of the Syr Darya, and one province to be formed, under 
the title of the province of Turkistan, of the whole of the ter¬ 
ritory bordering the Central Asiatic possessions from the Sea 
of Aral to Lake Issyk Kul. The administration of the new 
province is to be intrusted to a special military governor, who 
shall at the same time command the forces stationed within 
the province.” 

General Tchernayeff was punished for his attack upon Tash¬ 
kent, made only five months previously, by being appointed 
governor of the region and commander of the forces, while 
fresh troops were sent to him from Orenburg and Western 
Siberia. 

Tchernayeff, three months after he had been appointed Gov¬ 
ernor of Turkistan, reported to the minister of war at St. Pe¬ 
tersburg that the Ameer of Bokhara was marching his troops 
in the direction of Ura Tube, a town about sixty miles south 
of Tashkent. The general concluded his dispatch by saying 
that this movement could only be interpreted as a desire on 
the part of the Ameer of Bokhara to take advantage of the 
difficulties of the khanate, and mix himself up in its affairs. 

The magnanimous Tchernayeff was alarmed lest another 
might take possession of some territory which did not belong 
to Russia. There was no direct evidence as to this intention 
on the part of the Ameer. The general, however, thought 
that, in spite of the disapproval expressed by the Imperial Gov¬ 
ernment about his attempt to annex Tashkent, the authori¬ 
ties would be glad if this were an accomplished fact. He ad¬ 
vanced with his troops to Fort Niazbek, which commands the 
water supply of the city, and summoned the governor to sur¬ 
render. This fortress is situated sixteen miles north-east of 
Tashkent, and is on the left bank of the river Chirikik. It 
was one of the most formidable strongholds in the khanate, 
and yet it capitulated after a few hours’ fire from the Russian 
batteries. The Tzar’s troops suffered no loss in killed, and 
only seven Russians were slightly wounded. From this we can 


316 


APPENDIX. 


see that no great difficulties in the shape of opposition from 
the Kokandians could be anticipated. Prince Gortscliakoff’s 
dispatch and the Kokan forces were equally impotent to re¬ 
strain the invader. 

Russia had indeed advanced her right arm during that last 
twelve months. From Djulek, where it had been intended to 
draw the boundary-line, to Niazbek is more than three hun¬ 
dred miles. Fort Vernoe was more to the east than even Ni¬ 
azbek. The right arm must again reach forward. 

After taking Niazbek, Tchernayeff determined to take pos¬ 
session of Tashkent. This town was stormed on the 14th of 
July, 1865. The Russians had 1951 men and twelve guns ex¬ 
posed to a force of 30,000 defenders. In spite of this dis¬ 
crepancy in numbers, there were only twenty-eight Russian 
soldiers killed and eighty wounded. No officer was among 
the slain. Thus one of the most populous and important cities 
in Central Asia was added to the dominions of the White 
Tzar. 

The Ameer of Bokhara was extremely well disposed toward 
Russia. The Bokharan merchants, in days gone by, had re¬ 
ceived special privileges and an exemption from custom duties 
in their tradings with the emperor’s subjects; but shortly after 
the capture of Tashkent, Tchernayetf found that he had seri¬ 
ous cause to complain of the Ameer’s conduct. This sover¬ 
eign, simultaneously with the seizure of Tashkent by the Rus¬ 
sians, had actually dared to enter Hodjent, a town about six 
days’ march from the city. 

Hodjent is a most important military post. It is situated 
on the Syr Darya, at a point where the stream turns sharply to 
the south. Here the roads to Kokan, Tashkent, Bokhara, and 
last, but not by any means least, Balkh, cross each other. The 
possession of Hodjent by the Russians would thus enable them 
to sever Kokan from Bokhara, and afford a most advanta¬ 
geous position for an attack upon either of these countries. 

If Tchernayeff had intended to respect the dispatch which 
the Russian chancellor had sent to the different courts in Eu¬ 
rope, the general would not have troubled himself about Hod¬ 
jent ; but the temptation was too great, and Tchernayeff fell. 


THE RUSSIAN ADVANCE EASTWARD. 


317 


Hodjent did not belong to Russia, but this was no reason why it 
should belong to Bokhara—thus the general argued to himself. 
Any little scruples he might have had as to whether the con¬ 
scientious chancellor at St. Petersburg would be grieved at his 
proceedings were speedily quelled, and he issued an order to 
arrest all the Bokharans who could be found within his prov¬ 
ince, and to seize their property. The order was extended to 
Orenburg. General Kryjinovsky was requested to co-operate 
in carrying Tchernayeff’s edict into effect. So the merchan¬ 
dise of every Bokharan found in that town was also seques¬ 
trated. 

This was in July, 1865, only six months after the promulga¬ 
tion of Prince Gortschakoff’s famous dispatch, in which he 
said that Russia wished to live at peace with her neighbors, 
and promote commerce and civilization in Central Asia. 

In my account of the way a rupture was first brought about 
between Russia and Bokhara I adhere strictly to General Ronm 
novsky’s statements in his “Notes on the Central Asiatic Ques¬ 
tion.” As this officer accompanied General Kryjinovsky in a 
journey which the latter made at this time to Turkistan, in 
order to study the position of affairs in that province, he ought 
to be well acquainted with the facts of the case. Terentyeff, 
in his work on “ England and Russia in Central Asia,” says 
that Tchernayeff arrested the Bokharan merchants because the 
Bokharans had demanded the evacuation of Tashkent and 
Chemkent, pending the receipt of the final decision of the 
White Tzar; and that in the event of a refusal they had 
threatened a holy war, or, in other words, a general rising of 
all Mohammedans. 

It is very possible that some faint rumors as to the contents 
of the celebrated Gortschakoff document had reached Bokhara. 
The Ameer might have been under the impression that the 
Russian general had exceeded his instructions. But even if 
the demand were made as Terentyeff states, it was a strong 
measure for Tchernayeff to adopt, and one more characteristic 
of Eastern than of Western civilization. Perhaps, indeed, I 
am wrong in using the term Eastern, as the laws of hospitality 
are rigidly observed by Mohammedans in Asia, and the Rus- 


318 


APPENDIX. 


sian in this respect is sometimes behind his first cousin, the 
Tartar. It does not, however, signify whose version of the 
circumstances is correct. The Bokharans were arrested; Gen¬ 
eral Tchernayeff’s main object was attained: he had wished to 
have a casus belli against Bokhara. His wish was realized, for 
the Ameer at once retaliated by arresting all the Russian mer¬ 
chants who happened to be within his city. 

In spite of the aggressive measures commenced by the Rus¬ 
sians against Bokhara, the Ameer did not attempt any hostili¬ 
ties. Tchernayeff, too, had not many troops at his disposal, so 
he satisfied himself for the moment by occupying the Trans- 
Chirchik region, a fertile district close to Tashkent. 

In the mean time the Bokharan sovereign dispatched a mis¬ 
sion to the emperor at St. Petersburg, in order to remonstrate 
about the imprisonment of the Bokharan merchants and the 
seizure of their goods. The Ameer could not understand this 
system of promoting the interests of commerce and civilization. 
However, he would not long remain in ignorance, for he was 
about to undergo a course of education in the doctrines of civ¬ 
ilization as understood in Russia. 

Kryjinovsky met the mission at Fort Number One. He 
would not allow the Bokharan envoys to go to the capital, the 
reason assigned being that he was himself empowered to nego¬ 
tiate with them. We need not be astonished at General Kry- 
jinovsky’s refusing to allow the Bokharan envoys to go to St. 
Petersburg. Their mission was to complain of his conduct, 
and if their story had reached the Tzar’s ears the Governor of 
Orenburg might have lost his appointment. Shortly afterward 
the two generals, Kryjinovsky and Tchernayeff, met. They 
were not in accord about what was to be done with Tashkent; 
Tchernayeff wishing to annex that city to the empire, while 
Kryjinovsky was for reducing it to a state of vassaldom, and 
not for occupying the newly conquered district with Russian 
troops. 

It is interesting to mark this difference of opinion between 
the two generals, as toward the end of the year 1865 Kryji¬ 
novsky was recalled for a time to St. Petersburg. It will be 
curious to see how this visit to the capital subsequently influ- 


THE RUSSIAN ADVANCE EASTWARD. 


319 


enced him in his treatment of the question. The Bokharan 
envoys were still detained by the Russian authorities; and at 
the end of October, 1865, General Tehernayeff sent a Russian 
mission to Bokhara, ostensibly with the object of establishing 
friendly relations and of re-opening that trade which had been 
brought to so abrupt a conclusion by his own act of arresting 
the Bokharan merchants. 

There were several military as well as civil officers attached 
to this mission. It bore such a military as well as political as¬ 
pect, that the Ameer, who was highly dissatisfied that his own 
envoys to the Tzar had been arrested, actually had the audacity 
to detain the Russian gentlemen. He was undoubtedly wrong 
in committing so illegal an act, and one so contrary to the law 
of nations. The Ameer was not wise in his generation. He 
did not discern that the old saying, “ What is sauce for the 
goose is sauce for the gander,” did not apply in his case. The 
Russians had detained his mission, it is true, but, then, the Tzar 
was more powerful than the Ameer, although the latter potent¬ 
ate had this still to learn. Might gives right in the treatment 
of one country by another. The Ameer was rash in applying 
the Mosaic law, “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,” to 
the Christianizing and civilizing power on his frontier. 

Tchernayelf now crossed the Syr Darya, at Chinaz, with four¬ 
teen companies of infantry, nine hundred Cossacks, sixteen 
guns, and twelve hundred camels. His object was to march 
across the hungry steppe to Djirrak, so as to force the Ameer 
to release the envoys. However, the latter sovereign declined 
to do so unless his Bokharan subjects were permitted to re¬ 
turn. A battle was the consequence, and the Russians had so 
much the worst of the encounter that their expedition had to 
retreat to the Syr Darya. 

That Tchernayelf had the worst of this encounter is tolerably 
clear, from his report to the commander-in-chief, at Orenburg, 
dated March 19th, 1866, in which he urgently asked for re-en¬ 
forcements. However, the authorities at St. Petersburg were 
not pleased at the check their arms had received. An order 
was issued to recall the beaten general, and General Romanov- 
sky was appointed to replace him in the command. 


320 


APPENDIX. 


Soon afterward the Russians had a force of three thousand 
fighting men in Tashkent. In an engagement that took place 
at Irdja the Bokharans were utterly routed. General Roma- 
novsky followed up the advantages he had gained by a fresh 
victory in the same neighborhood. The Ameer’s army was an¬ 
nihilated, and the sovereign had to take refuge in Samarcand. 

The Russian general did not think that he had sufficient 
forces to capture the city of Samarcand, so he determined to 
take possession of Hodjent. This town was stormed after a 
siege which lasted eight days. The commander-in-chief then 
resolved to retain all the territory he had occupied on the left 
bank of the Syr Darya, and on the Kokan side he expressed 
his wish to take possession of the large town of Namangan. 
This, in Romanovsky’s opinion, would have been most conven¬ 
ient, as the boundary-line could then have been drawn along 
the river Naryn, which lies south of Lake Issyk Kul. 

General Romanovsky was not permitted to carry out his 
project of occupying Namangan, and of pushing the frontier 
to the south of Lake Issyk Kul. It was felt at St. Petersburg 
that this step would have been premature, and that the English 
nation might have been aroused from its state of lethargy, the 
object of the Russian Government being always rather to take 
advantage of events than to force them. 

The general was on the best of terms with Iludoyar Khan, 
the Prince of Kokan, who had promised to faithfully obey the 
commands of the Russian authorities, and, in Romanovsky’s 
words, the khan had most conscientiously fulfilled his prom¬ 
ises. However, General Kryjinovsky, after his arrival at St. 
Petersburg, sent a dispatch to Tashkent, in which he stated 
that he considered it necessary to occupy the entire khanate of 
Kokan, and extend the Imperial dominions to the Celestial 
mountains and the Bolors. He recommended General Roma¬ 
novsky to assume a high tone toward Kokan, and to treat 
Iludoyar Khan as a man who by his position should be a vas¬ 
sal of Russia. Should he take umbrage and operate against 
us, wrote the Governor-general of Orenburg, so much the bet¬ 
ter; it will give us a pretext to close with him. With refer¬ 
ence to the Ameer of Bokhara, every thing must be demanded 


THE RUSSIAN ADVANCE EASTWARD. 


321 


of, nothing conceded to, him; and Kryjinovsky still refused to 
allow the release of the Bokharan merchants who were de¬ 
tained at Orenburg. Doubtless he did this in their own inter¬ 
ests, and in order to accustom them to the new order of things, 
as stated in Prince Gortschakoff’s declaration of 1864. The 
Russian merchants had long since been sent back from Bo¬ 
khara, but this did not affect Kryjinovsky’s treatment of his 
prisoners. They required civilizing a la Basse, and he deter¬ 
mined to civilize them. 

It was well known that this governor-general had been hon¬ 
ored a short time previous by being admitted to an audience 
with some high authorities in the capital. A few people in 
London now expressed their belief that the celebrated dispatch 
was all humbug, and said that the chancellor wished to annex 
more territory. These men, however, were contradicted by the 
wiseacres of the English community, who contented themselves 
by pointing out the distinctness of the chancellor’s statements, 
and saying that they ought not to be impugned by even the 
shadow of a suspicion. 

Kryjinovsky returned to Tashkent: it was stated that he 
was desirous to bring matters to a head. He shortly manifest¬ 
ed his ideas on this subject by forwarding an official report to 
St. Petersburg recommending the immediate commencement of 
hostilities against the inhabitants of Kokan. The Governor- 
general of Orenburg grounded his report on an attack which 
had been made on the Russians by a party of robbers, and on 
the khan having concentrated his forces in his own territories. 

In Romanovsky’s opinion the khan had not the means to 
stop the inroads of predatory parties, and this general thought 
that the concentration of native troops was merely the very 
natural consequence of the concentration of the Russian troops 
in Hodjent, which began immediately after the arrival of the 
Governor-general of Orenburg in the province of Turkistan. 

A new element was now introduced on the scene. Some of 
the inhabitants of the conquered districts requested permission 
to become vassals of Russia. Sixty-two natives of Tashkent 
were persuaded to sign a document asking for their town to 
be annexed to Russia. Some few inhabitants of the Trans- 

14* 


322 


APPENDIX. 


Chirchik district and of Hodjent did the same; so that all the 
country occupied up to May, 1866, became incorporated with 
the Russian Empire. 

Shortly after this event the Ameer of Bokhara sent an emis¬ 
sary to Kryjinovsky to conclude a treaty of peace. However, 
as the Governor-general of Orenburg demanded 100,000 tillas 
as a war indemnity, the emissary would not accede to the 
terms, his Mohammedan mind being too obtuse to see the jus¬ 
tice of the demand. The case was a clear one. The govern¬ 
ors of Orenburg and Tashkent had first of all arrested some 
Bokharan merchants, and sequestrated their goods. The 
Ameer of Bokhara had been so wicked as to resent this pro¬ 
ceeding. It was as if a strong savage had set fire to a weak 
savage’s wigwam, and the strong man had afterward asked for 
an indemnity because he had slightly burned his fingers while 
creating the conflagration. The facts had been made out, the 
weak savage could pay, but would not pay, so he must be 
made to pay; and Kryjinovsky determined to attack Bokhara. 

His subordinate, Romanovsky, was ordered to prepare for an 
immediate campaign in the Ameer’s territory. The frontier 
was crossed, and the forts of Oura Tube and Djirrak were taken 
by storm, when, singularly enough, the day after the capture of 
Djirrak, Kryjinovsky received a telegram from St. Petersburg, 
in which the Government stated its disinclination to extend the 
limits of the empire, and at the same time called his attention 
to the order of 1866, which was to the effect, that, should the 
inhabitants of Tashkent and of the other conquered districts 
renew their request to become Russian subjects, so as to obtain 
protection against the Ameer of Bokhara, it was to be granted 
them. But this had already been done; and as sixty-two out 
of the *78,165 inhabitants of Tashkent had expressed a desire 
to belong to Russia, the remaining 78,103 individuals had be¬ 
come, nolens volens , subjects of the Tzar. 

Kryjinovsky left for. Orenburg on the 10th of November, 
1866. The troops were put into winter-quarters, and a strong 
garrison was left in Djirrak, the recently conquered town, 
which was some distance from the left bank of the Syr Darya, 
and on the high-road to Samarcand. In the spring of the fol- 


THE RUSSIAN ADVANCE EASTWARD. 


323 


lowing year, 1867, a Bokharan fort, called Zani Kurgan, not 
far from Djirrak, was taken by the Russians, and shortly aft¬ 
erward an imperial decree was issued, separating the Turkistan 
province from the Orenburg government, the residence ap¬ 
pointed for the governor-general being in Tashkent. The new¬ 
ly formed province was in its turn divided into the Syr Darya 
and Semirechensky districts; the two together containing a 
population of about 1,500,000 inhabitants. 

A fresh governor, General Kauffmann, replaced Romanovsky 
on the 17th of November, 1867. The new officer commenced 
his reign by destroying the Bokharan town of Uklium, and in 
April, 1868, he marched through the valley of the Zerafshan 
to Samarcand. This far-famed town at once surrendered to 
the Russian arms. Katye Kurgan, forty miles from Samar¬ 
cand, and on the high-road to Bokhara, was next taken, and on 
the 2d of July, the Ameer, with all his army, was utterly de¬ 
feated on the Zerabulak heights. The Bokharan sovereign 
now felt that he was impotent to resist the invader’s progress. 
Muscovite civilization was too much for him, and the defeated 
monarch was obliged to sign a treaty of peace. By this he 
bound himself to pay an indemnity, and to acknowledge the 
right of Russia to all the territory won by her since 1865. 

Territorial aggrandizement had always been contrary to the 
expressed wish of the authorities at St. Petersburg, and they 
must have been deeply grieved to find themselves compelled to 
annex so much Bokharan territory. However, Kauffmann was 
not recalled, like his predecessors, Tchernayeff and Romanovsky, 
had been: a scape-goat was not required this time. England 
was too much occupied in money-making to cast a thought 
upon the affairs of Central Asia; and although a few members 
in.the House of Commons and the Morning Post might grum¬ 
ble a little, the British Government did not trouble itself much 
about the matter. 

By the possession of Samarcand, the Russians held Bokhara 
completely at their disposition; they had full control over the 
waters of the Zerafshan, and, in consequence, over the crops of 
Bokhara. The knowledge of this fact now stirred up a little 
the British Cabinet; but the Russian chancellor, eager to throw 


324 


APPENDIX. 


oil on the troubled waters, promised to restore Samarcand to 
the Ameer. Our ministers placed credence in the statement. 
Their minds were tranquilized about the matter, and they once 
more lay down to slumber. The Cabinet had excited itself a 
little more than was its wont, for some Afghans—that warlike 
race, which were looked upon as our surest safeguard in the 
event of a quarrel with Russia—had actually fought under the 
Tzar’s standard, and with the Christians, against the Bokharans. 

The facts were as follows: The ruler at Balkh had sent 286 
Afghan soldiers under Sekunder Khan, the grandson of Mo¬ 
hammed Khan, to aid the Ameer of Bokhara. The Ameer 
had not been able to pay these auxiliaries with regularity, and 
Sekunder quietly left his ally and attached himself to the 
forces under Kauffmann. Afghans combined with Russians, 
and in arms against the followers of the prophet! Soldiers of 
fortune will fight for the power which pays best or is able to 
offer the greatest bribe; and it had just dawned upon the few 
people in Great Britain who take an interest in the affairs of 
Central Asia, that the chance of looting the rich cities of the 
plains in India might prove an irresistible attraction to the in¬ 
habitants of Afghanistan if it were proposed to them, of course 
in the interests of civilization, by any Russian agents. Sekun¬ 
der Khan, who is the nephew of Shere Ali, became a lieuten¬ 
ant-colonel in the Tzar’s army. He soon mastered Russian and 
French : however, he found that there was no chance of his ris¬ 
ing higher in the Russian service—his nationality told against 
him; and being furthermore aggrieved at the treatment re¬ 
ceived by one of his followers, Rahmed Khan, an ensign in the 
Russian army, from the adjutant of his regiment, Sekunder 
called out the last-mentioned officer. The challenge was not 
accepted, and the infuriated Afghan, who announced his deter¬ 
mination to horsewhip his adversary on the first opportunity, 
was put under arrest. He resigned his commission and came 
to England, where, according to Mr. Terentyeff, he has been 
well received, and assigned an allowance of £4000 a year in¬ 
stead of £600, his pay in Russia. 

The Ameer of Bokhara was under the impression that Sam¬ 
arcand would be restored to him. It is said that he signed a 

O 


THE RUSSIAN ADVANCE EASTWARD. 


325 


treaty granting special privileges to Russian traders, pledging 
himself to pay a war indemnity of £75,000, on the understand¬ 
ing that Samarcand would be evacuated. This the Russians 
did not do: however, they restored the Ameer’s authority, 
which had been shaken by an insurrection headed by one of 
his sons, for, marching upon Karshi, they drove from it the 
rebel and his supporters. They then advanced against two 
chiefs in Shahr i Subz, and, conquering them, restored the dis¬ 
trict to the Ameer. 

The last expedition the Russians have made in that part of 
the world was to the sources of the Zerafshan, in the mount¬ 
ainous country to the south-east of Bokhara. There they re¬ 
duced to their own rule the bekships of Urgut, Faraf, Macha, 
Kslitut, and Maghian. What was of no use to Kauffmann, he 
gave back to the original owners; what was worth retaining, 
the general kept for Russia. 

In the north-eastern division of Turkistan the Tzar’s officers 
had not been idle. Some troops had been dispatched from 
Vernoe to the Naryn, the main branch of the Syr Darya. 
Here they constructed a bridge, erected a fort, and made a 
road, thus opening a carriage-way in the direction of Kashgar. 

Kokan was now entirely cut off from the adjacent khanates, 
and lay at the mercy of the invader. 

Shortly before this the Russian relations with China had be¬ 
come complicated; a revolution had occurred in that empire, 
and all Eastern Turkistan emancipated itself from the Chinese 
yoke. Bands of Russian Kirghiz marched into Chinese ter¬ 
ritory, and freely pillaged the inhabitants. This led to the 
destruction of the Russian consulates and factories in Kulja 
and Chuguchak. Yakoob Bek, the ruler in Kashgar, formed 
of Kashgaria an independent state; and as he found that the 
Taranchees and Dungans were not at all submissive, he occu¬ 
pied some of the Dungan towns, among others Karashan and 
Turf a. 

In order to defend the Russian Kirghiz from the Taranchees, 
which was a capital excuse for an advance, the Governor-gen¬ 
eral of Turkistan, at the end of August, 1870, ordered the 
slope from the Muzart Pass to be occupied. This is the only 


326 


APPENDIX. 


pass in the Tian Shan range which unites the province of Ili 
with Altishahr. 

The Russians, having possession of the Muzart Pass, were 
enabled to prevent Yakoob Bek from annexing Kulja. They 
did this in the most effective manner by taking possession of 
it themselves. 

The St. Petersburg official journals declared that Kulja was 
only to be temporarily occupied, and that it would be given up 
as soon as the Chinese authority could be re-established by re¬ 
enforcements of troops from China. Negotiations about the 
restoration of the province of Ili (Kulja) were said to have 
been carried on between Jung, a Chinese commissioner, and a 
Russian general. However, all was to no purpose; there was 
no intention to give any thing back; and in spite of the state¬ 
ments issuing from official sources, Kulja, like Samarcand, be¬ 
came permanently annexed to the Tzar’s dominions. 

A little later a revolution in Kokan, brought about by Rus¬ 
sian agents, afforded the long wished-for opportunity. Some 
of the inhabitants expressed a desire to become subjects of the 
emperor, and General Kauffmann was so kind as to accede 
to their wishes. By the entire possession of this khanate the 
Russian right arm had reached far eastward, but Kulja, the ex¬ 
tremity of her left arm, was still a long way in advance. 

In Lieutenant-colonel Leistin’s map of Turkistan, 1875, the 
boundary-line between Kokan and Kashgar is not dotted in. 
Does this mean that a fresh movement forward with the right 
arm is imminent? It will have to reach well out to shake 
hands with its fellow at Kulja. 

A natural boundary of mountains separates Kokan from 
Kashgar, but General Kauffmann is not likely to be deterred in 
his advance. Eastward, south-eastward! is the cry, and Kash¬ 
gar will inevitably succumb, unless England intervene in her 
behalf. 


APPENDIX B. 


REPORT OF MR. SCHUYLER. 

Mr. Schuyler, Secretary of the United States Legation at 
St. Petersburg, on his return from the Russian province of 
Turkistan, made a long report to his Government. From this 
report I extract the following remarks: 

“The faults of the Russian administration seem to be, however, in some 
measure due to the personal character and conduct of the governor-gen¬ 
eral. General Kauffmann is, unfortunately, a very weak as well as a very 
vain man, and has always been surrounded, wherever he was, by persons 
■who use these qualities to serve their own purpose. He came to Central 
Asia with no knowledge of the country, and, by holding himself in a very 
lofty position, has acquired very little knowledge of it during his stay. He 
has considered it necessary to keep up an appearance of state, and to have 
little communication with the natives, having been in the Asiatic part of 
Tashkent only once or twice during the seven years of his administration. 
He never rides through the street without a body-guard of 100 Cossacks, 
and maintains himself at a distance from the Russians also. 

“At his balls it is forbidden to a gentleman to be seated, a more strict 
etiquette than prevails at the balls of the emperor at St. Petersburg. The 
Central Asiatics are accustomed to a very simple, and, in some respects, 
democratic kind of life, and, instead of standing in awe of the governor- 
general, they turn his actions, to some extent, to ridicule. At the same 
time, these restrictions in their intercourse with him prevent their reaching 
him with complaints or suggestions, and therefore, so far as he knows the 
natives, he knows only such as by their wealth and cunning are able to get 
round him. In this respect he is the exact opposite of General Tchernayeff, 
who, by his simplicity, bravery, and almost intuitive knowledge of the coun¬ 
try and people, made himself very popular, and is very greatly regretted by 
the natives, who long for his return. It is natural, of course, that General 
Kauffmann should have his favorites among the Russian officers, and should 
be disposed to uphold them in spite of all charges of maladministration. 
Although the most glaring acts of maladministration have been committed 



328 


APPENDIX. 


by the district prefects, or commanders, the general tone set by the govern¬ 
or-general is such as to naturally lead to this result, and to render it almost 
hopeless to expect any thing better. The prefects being removed, to a cer¬ 
tain extent, from the observation and control of the centre of observation, 
and falling soon into the ways and methods of former Central Asiatic gov¬ 
ernments, abuse their powers, and consider themselves almost irresponsi¬ 
ble. A striking example of this was in the management of the Karamin- 
ski district, one of the most fertile and thickly settled in the whole prov¬ 
ince, and surrounding, but not including, the city of Tashkent. The prefect 
of this district in one year levied 90,000 rubles of illegal taxes, all of which 
he spent, beside other Government money, and yet he resided within five 
miles of the house of the governor-general, and was known to be living in 
a style, with frequent dinners, suppers, and gambling parties, entirely im¬ 
possible on his salary of 2400 rubles a year. Among other things, sav¬ 
ings funds had been instituted for the benefit of the population, but by a 
subsequent regulation, approved by the governor-general, it had been al¬ 
lowed to spend them on the administrative needs of the district. This 
money, some 22,000 rubles, entirely disappeared, and no accounts of its 
expenditure could be found, except that it was said that it had been used 
in fitting up the house of the prefect. Money was taken from the natives 
at all times and under all pretenses, and a grossly illegal order was issued, 
forbidding all persons to cross the river Syr Darya at any other place than 
the places specified in the order, threatening persons who did so with being 
sent to Siberia. The points specified were places belonging to friends of 
the prefect. 

“ When at last matters became too scandalous, the governor-general felt 
obliged to take some notice, and removed the prefect from the district; but, 
instead of punishing him, he appointed him to another locality, stating that 
he considered him ‘ a most useful officer.’ 

“ The prefect of the district of Peroffski was investigated, and re¬ 
moved for extortion and bribery. He was then appointed to Auli-ata, and 
has lately been again investigated, and removed for demanding an illegal 
contribution from the natives, on the occasion of the demand for camels 
for the Khivan expedition. Other persons have in like way been removed 
from one post for maladministration, and immediately given another. 

“ On the other hand, many persons who endeavored to enlighten the 
public as to the state of affairs were immediately punished, and the com¬ 
mandant of the district of-was removed, and sent out of the prov¬ 

ince, for having written a letter to St. Petersburg for publication, though 
not at the time actually published, stating the truth about the disaffection 
and riots at Khodjend, alleging that they were caused by the excessive tax¬ 
ation, which was not what the Russians had at first promised, and not by 
the vaccination measures, as had been given out. Similar instances are 
numerous. W hen the papers showing the guilt of one emuploye were pre¬ 
sented to the governor-general, he tore them up without reading them, say- 



RUSSIAN EXTORTION AND BRIBERY. 


329 


ing, 1 1 know this person so well, and I believe him to be such an honest 
man, that I can not think such things to be possible.’ 

“ In some cases, acts not only wrong in themselves, but bringing with 
them very important consequences, have been committed, not from a desire 
of personal gain, but from a wish to appear zealous in the performance of 
duties, or from motives of intrigue. A case which happened last year is 
especially noticeable. 

“ An officer named Emmonds, in possession of a considerable amount of 
Government funds, gave information that he had been robbed by the Kir¬ 
ghiz. The chief Kirghiz living in the neighborhood of the alleged occur¬ 
rence were arrested, and, after a long examination, several of them con¬ 
fessed their guilt, though the money could not be found. While the trial 
was going on, Emmonds committed suicide, leaving a letter in which he 
stated that he was not the honest man that had been supposed, as he had 
himself spent the money, and made that excuse to clear himself. The 
Kirghiz were then, of course, released, but the question arose, why had 
they confessed ? And on an investigation, it was found that the judicial 
officer, Baron Grevenitz of Kerney, had extorted confession from them by 
means of torture, a practice wholly at variance with Russian law, and cer¬ 
tainly most disastrous for Russian influence among the Kirghiz. 

“There was another case in the same neighborhood, at Kopol, where a 
district prefect had been robbed, beaten, and severely wounded. As he 
was most deservedly uupopular for the extortions he practiced on the na¬ 
tives, this was not to be wondered at. Over sixty Kirghiz were accused of 
participating in this act, the chief of them being the Sultan Yeizak, holding 
the rank of major in the Russian service, the most aristocratic and re¬ 
spected among the Kirghiz chiefs, and a well-known and life-long friend to 
Russia. The chief evidence against him was, that some of the property 
stolen from the prefect was found in his tent. One investigation succeed¬ 
ed another, until a Cossack finally confessed that he had placed these ar¬ 
ticles in the tent of Yeizak at the instigation of the judge himself. It is 
said that this was done because the judge wished to please one high of¬ 
ficial by convicting of robbery and sedition another of whom he was jeal¬ 
ous. Among the papers of the investigating commission is a letter from 
the prefect to the judge with regard to the means of obtaining this evi¬ 
dence. For various reasons it has never been possible to completely finish 
the investigation, but it was thought necessary to remove the judge, and to 
bestow upon him a similar post in the city of Khodjend, where he is now 
the chief administrator of justice. The effect of such a proceeding is, of 
course, to make the natives thoroughly displeased with the working of the 
Russian courts. 

“ Another case of the ill-advised action of the authorities, regardless of 
the effect produced upon the natives, occurred last summer. 

“ When the Khivan expedition began, it was found necessary to obtain 
14,000 camels, exactly 14 per cent, of the whole number of camels in the 


330 


APPENDIX. 


provinces, and it was agreed that in case these camels died a sum of fifty 
rubles would be paid for each. They had to be furnished in proper pro¬ 
portions by the different districts. In consequence of the hardships of the 
expedition, nearly all the camels perished, and it became, therefore, neces¬ 
sary to pay a sum of 700,000 rubles. One of the prefects, thinking that 
he had found a good opportunity to show his zeal for the administration 
and the good feeling of the district, told the population over whom he 
ruled that the Government would never pay for these camels, and that it 
would be much better for them to make them a present to the administra¬ 
tion, and, by the use of proper persuasion, succeeded in accomplishing this. 
The example was followed in most of the other districts, and the result 
is, that the inhabitants feel that they have been absolutely robbed by 
the Government of these camels; and, to speak of nothing else, if it were 
necessary again to furnish camels for some expedition, the discontent would 
be very great. 

******** 

“ No efforts have been made to spread Christianity, though a church ex¬ 
ists at Tashkent for the use of the Russians; and General Kauffmann has 
speedily put down all missionary projects. 

* *'* * * * * * 

“ As far as education is concerned, the Russians have done almost noth¬ 
ing. In Samarcand, owing to the vigorous efforts of the commander of the 
city, himself a Mussulman, a small school has been opened for the instruc¬ 
tion of Mussulman children in Russian; but neither in Tashkent nor in 
any other town of the province does such a school exist, nor, indeed, a 
school of any kind. It has been proposed once or twice to introduce the 
teaching of Russian and of modern knowledge into some of the Mussul¬ 
man medresses, or high schools, and, upon the whole, this project was 
viewed with favor by the authorities ; but, owing to their lack of intuitive, 
the matter has been neglected.” 


Russian Immorality in Central Asia. 

Major Wood, in his work, “ Shores of Lake Aral,” remarks, 
in page 241, as follows: 

“ Notwithstanding the constant drill and rifle practice, the Russian offi¬ 
cers on the Amu would find life dreary were it not for the occasional 
brush with the Turkoman tribes, which promises to become a periodical in¬ 
stitution. Besides a little tiger-slaying or pheasant and snipe shooting, 
means of recreation are totally wanting; and such an isolated position, be- 



TREATY OF PEACE. 


331 


sides aiding, perhaps, to a caducity of European morale ,* is in itself an in- 
centive to that military restlessness and yearning for decorations which 
is taken as a sign of the aggressive policy of Russia in Central Asia.” 


Treaty of Peace between Russia and Kliiva , prepared by Gener¬ 
al Aid-de-camp Kauffmann , commanding the forces acting 
against Khiva , and accepted by the Khan of Khiva, Seid- 
Mnhamed-Rahim-Bahadur-Khan. 

1. Seid-Muhamed-Rahim-Bahadur-Khan acknowledges himself to be 
the humble servant of the Emperor of all the Russias. He renounces 
the right of maintaining any direct and friendly relations with neighbor¬ 
ing Rulers and Khans, and of concluding with them commercial or other 
treaties of any kind soever, and shall not, without the knowledge and per¬ 
mission of the superior Russian authorities in Central Asia, undertake any 
military operations against such neighboring countries. 

2. The boundary between the Russian and Khivan territories shall be 
the Amu Darya, from Kukertli down the river as far as the point at which 
the most westerly branch of the Amu Darya leaves the main stream, and 
from that point the frontier shall pass along such branch as far as its 
mouth in the Aral Sea. Farther, the frontier shall extend along the sea- 
coast to Cape Urgu, and from thence along the base of the chink (escarp¬ 
ment) of the Ust-Urt, following the so-called ancient bed of the Amu 
Darya. 

3. THE WHOLE OF THE RIGHT BANK OF THE AMU DARYA 
AND THE LANDS ADJOINING THEREUNTO, WHICH HAVE HITH¬ 
ERTO BEEN CONSIDERED AS BELONGING TO KHIVA, SHALL 
PASS OVER FROM THE KHAN INTO THE POSSESSION OF RUS¬ 
SIA, TOGETHER WITH THE PEOPLE DWELLING AND CAMPING 
THEREON. Those parcels of land which are at present the property of 
the Khan, and of which the usufruct has been given by him to Khivan 
Officers of State, become likewise the property of the Russian Govern¬ 
ment, free of all claims on the part of the previous owners. The Khan 
may indemnify them by grants of land on the left bank. 


* “Infandum ! adolescentes Bokharae, urbe stuprorum, lupanari; palam ac jure 
venundari apud Vamberium narrantur. Utrum censorum Scythici istaec permit- 
tent nescio, fcedissima percontari non soleo, conflteor; attamen credo haec probra 
etiamnum florere, nam greges adolescentinm ex intima Asiae Mediae sub tntela et 
cum assensu censorum, agrum Scythicum stupri causa perlustrare solent. A.D. 
MDCCCLXXIV. grex impuberum in castris Nukii et Cimbae (in regione Oxii) 
lubricas 6altationes Scythicas centurionibus gratissimas exhibebant. Prudenti 
satis.” 




332 


APPENDIX. 


4. In the event of a portion of such right bank being transferred to the 
possession of the Ameer of Bokhara, by the will of His Majesty the Em¬ 
peror, the Khan of Khiva shall recognize the latter as the lawful possessor 
of such portion of his former dominions, and engages to renounce all in¬ 
tention of re-establishing his authority therein. 

5. Russian steamers and other Russian vessels, whether belonging to 
the Government or to private individuals, shall have the free and exclusive 
right of navigating the Amu Darva River. Khivan and Bokharian ves- 
sels may enjoy the same right not otherwise than by special permission 
from the superior Russian authority in Central Asia. 

6. Russians shall have the right to construct wharves (landing-places) 
on the left bank wheresoever the same shall be found necessary and con¬ 
venient. The Government of the Khan shall be responsible for the safe¬ 
ty and security of such wharves. The approval of the localities selected 
for wharves shall rest with the superior Russian authorities in Central 
Asia. 

7. Independently of such wharves, Russians shall have the right to es¬ 
tablish factories on the left bank of the Amu Darya, for the purpose of 
storing and safe-keeping their merchandise. For the purposes of such 
factories the Government of the Khan shall allot, in the localities which 
shall have been indicated by the superior Russian authorities in Central 
Asia, a sufficient quantity of unoccupied land for wharves and for the con¬ 
struction of store - houses, of buildings for the accommodation of serv¬ 
ants of the factories, and of persons transacting business with the facto¬ 
ries, and of merchants’ offices, as well as for the establishment of domes¬ 
tic farms. Such factories, together with all persons residing thereat, and 
with all goods placed therein, shall be under the immediate protection of 
the Government of the Khan, which shall be responsible for the safety 
and security of the same. 

8. All the towns and villages, without exception, within the Khanate of 
Khiva shall henceforward be open to Russian trade. Russian merchants 
and Russian caravans may freely travel throughout the entire Khanate, 
and shall enjoy the special protection of the local authorities. The Gov¬ 
ernment of the Khan shall be responsible for the safety of caravans and 
stores. 

9. Russian merchants trading in the Khanate shall be free from the 
payment of customs duties ( ziaket ), and of all kinds of dues on trade, in 
the same manner as the merchants of Khiva have long enjoyed immunity 
from ziaket on the route through Kazalinsk, at Orenburg, and at the sta¬ 
tions (landing-places) on the Caspian Sea. 

10. Russian merchants shall have the right of carrying their goods 
through the Khivan territory to all neighboring countries free of customs 
duties (free transit trade). 

11. Russian merchants shall, if they desire it, have the right to establish 
agents (caravan bashis) in Khiva and other towns within the Khanate, for 


TREATY OF PEACE. 


333 


the purpose of maintaining communication with the authorities, and super¬ 
intending the regularity of their trade. 

12. Russian subjects shall have the right to hold immovable property 
in Khiva. A land-tax shall be leviable on the same by agreement with the 
superior Russian authority in Central Asia. 

13. Commercial engagements between Russians and Khivans shall be 
fulfilled inviolably on both sides. 

14. The Government of the Khan engages to examine (inquire into) 
without delay the complaints and claims of Russian subjects against 
Khivans, and in case such complaints and claims shall have proved to be 
well founded, to give immediate satisfaction in respect of the same. In 
the examination of disputes (claims) between Russian subjects and Khi¬ 
vans, preference shall be given to Russians in respect to the payment of 
debts by Khivans. 

15. Complaints and claims of Khivans against Russian subjects shall 
be referred to the nearest Russian authorities for examination and satis¬ 
faction, even in the event of such complaints and claims being raised by 
Russian subjects within the confines of the Khanate. 

16. The Government of the Khan shall in no case give refuge to emi¬ 
grants (runaways) from Russia having no permit from Russian authorities, 
without regard to the nationality of such individuals. Should any Russian 
subjects, being criminals, seek concealment within the boundaries of Khiva 
in order to avoid judicial pursuit, the Government of the Khan engages to 
capture such persons, and to surrender them to the nearest Russian au¬ 
thorities. 

17. The proclamation made by Seid-Muhamed-Rahim-Bahadur-Khan on 
the 12th (24th) of July last, respecting the liberation of all slaves in the 
Khanate, and the abolition in perpetuity of slavery and of trade in men, 
shall remain in full force, and the Government of the Khan engages to 
employ all the means in its power in order to watch over the strict and 
conscientious prosecution of this matter. 

18. A fine is inflicted on the Khanate of Khiva to the extent of 2,200,000 
rubles, in order to cover the expenses incurred by the Russian Exchequer 
in the prosecution of the late war, which was provoked by the Govern¬ 
ment of the Khan and by the Khivan people. Since, owing to the insuf¬ 
ficiency of money in the country, and particularly in the hands of the 
Government, the Khivan Government is unable to pay the above sum 
within a short time, the Khivan Government shall, in consideration of 
such difficulty, have the right of paying the said fine by installments, with 
the addition of interest thereon at the rate of 5 per cent, per annum, on 
condition that during the first two years 100,000 rubles shall be annually 
paid into the Russian Exchequer, 125,000 rubles per annum during the 
two ensuing years, and, after that, 175,000 rubles per annum during the 
succeeding two years; and in the year 1881, that is to say, after the expi¬ 
ration of eight years, the sum of 200,000 rubles shall be paid; and lastly, 


334 


APPENDIX. 


a sum of not less than 200,000 rubles per annum shall be paid until the 
final settlement of the claim. The installments may be paid both in Rus¬ 
sian bank-notes and in the current coin of Khiva, at the pleasure of the 
Government of the Khan. 

The first installment shall be paid on the 1st (13th) of December, 1873. 
On account of this installment, the Khan shall have the right to levy a tax 
for the current year from the population on the right bank, according to 
the assessment hitherto in force. This collection shall be terminated by 
the 1st (13th) of December by agreement between the Khan’s collectors 
and the local Russian authorities. 

Subsequent installments shall be paid in by the 1st (13th) of November 
of each year until the entire fine, with interest thereon, shall have been 
paid off. 

After the expiration of nineteen years, that is to say, by the 1st (13th) 
of November, 1892, after the payment of 200,000 rubles for the year 
1892, the sum of 70,054 rubles will still be due by the Government of the 
Khan; and by the 1st (13th) of November, 1893, the last installment of 
73,557 rubles shall be paid. Should the Government of the Khan desix-e 
to shorten the term of payment, and thus to reduce the amount of accru¬ 
ing interest, it shall have the right to pay larger annual installments. 

These conditions have been fixed and accepted for exact execution and 
constant guidance on the one part by General Aid-de-camp Kauffmann, 
Governor-general of Turkistan, and on the other part by Seid-Muhamed- 
Raliim-Bahadur-Kahn, Ruler of Khiva, in the garden of Hendemian (the 
camp of the Russian troops at the city of Khiva), on the 12th (24th) day 
of August, 1873 (on the fii'st day of the month of Radjab, in the year 
1290). 

The original treaty was signed and sealed by General Aid-de-camp 
Kauffmann, Governor-genei’al of Turkistan, and by Seid-Muhamed-Rahim- 
Bahadur-Khan. 


The Promise not to annex Khivan Territory. 

“ EARL GRANVILLE TO LORD A. LOFTUS. 

“Foreign Office, Jan. 8th, 1873. 

“ My Lord, —Having received information from your Excellency and 
from Count Brunnow that Count Schouvalow, a statesman enjoying the 
full confidence of the Emperor of Russia, had left St. Petersburg for Lon¬ 
don at the desire of His Imperial Majesty, I had the pleasure of receiving 
his Excellency on the 8th instant. 

“He confirmed the fact that it was by the emperor’s desire that he 
sought a personal interview with me. It had caused great surprise to 
His Imperial Majesty to learn from various sources that a certain amount 



THE VALUE OF RUSSIAN ASSURANCES. 


335 


of excitement and susceptibility had been caused in the public mind of 
this country on account of questions connected with Central Asia. 

“ The emperor knew of no questions in Central Asia which could affect 
the good understanding between the two countries. It was true that no 
agreement has been come to as to some of the details of the arrangement 
concluded by Lord Clarendon and Prince Gortchakow on the basis of 
Mr. Forsyth’s recommendations as to the boundaries of Afghanistan; but 
the question ought not to be a cause to ruffle the good relations between 
the two countries. His Imperial Majesty had agreed to almost every 
thing that we had asked. There remained only the point regarding the 
provinces of Badakshan and Wakhan. There might be arguments used 
respectively by the departments of each Government, but the emperor 
was of opinion that such a question should not be a cause of difference 
between the two countries, and His Imperial Majesty was determined that 
it should not be so. He was the more inclined to carry out this deter¬ 
mination in consequence of His Majesty’s belief in the conciliatory policy 
of Her Majesty’s Government. 

“ Count Schouvalow added, on his own part, that he had every reason 
to believe, if it were desired by Her Majesty’s Government, the agreement 
might be arrived at at a very early period. 

“ With regard to the expedition to Khiva, it was true that it was de¬ 
cided upon for next spring. TO GIVE AN IDEA OF ITS CHARAC¬ 
TER IT WAS SUFFICIENT TO SAY THAT IT WOULD CONSIST OF 
FOUR AND A HALF BATTALIONS. Its object was to punish acts of 
brigandage, to recover fifty Russian prisoners, and to teach the Khan that 
such conduct on his part could not be continued with the impunity in 
which the moderation of Russia had led him to believe. NOT ONLY 
WAS IT FAR FROM THE INTENTION OF THE EMPEROR TO TAKE 
POSSESSION OF KHIVA, BUT POSITIVE ORDERS HAD BEEN PRE¬ 
PARED TO PREVENT IT, and directions given that the conditions im¬ 
posed should be such as could not in any way lead to a PROLONGED 
OCCUPANCY OF KHIVA. 

“ Count Schouvalow repeated the surprise which the EMPEROR, enter¬ 
taining such sentiments, felt at the uneasiness which it was said existed 
in England on the subject, and HE gave me most DECIDED ASSUR¬ 
ANCE 0 that I might give POSITIVE ASSURANCES to Parliament on this 
matter. 

“ With regard to the uneasiness which might exist in England on the 
subject of Central Asia, I could not deny the fact to Count Schouvalow: 
the people of this country were decidedly in favor of peace, but a great 
jealousy existed as to any thing which really affected OUR HONOR and 
INTEREST; that they w'ere particularly alive to any thing affecting 
India; that the progress of Russia in Asia had been considerable, and 
sometimes as it v^ould appear, like England in India and France in 
Algeria, more so than was desired by the Central Governments; that the 


336 


APPENDIX. 


Clarendon and Gortchakow arrangement, apparently agreeable to both 
Governments, had met with great delay as to its final settlement; that it 
was with the object of coming to a settlement satisfactory to both coun¬ 
tries, and in a friendly and conciliatory spirit, that I had addressed to your 
Excellency the dispatch of the I7tli October. 

“The only point of difference which now remained, as Count Schouva- 
low had pointed out, concerned Badakshan and Wakhan. In our opinion, 
historical facts proved that these countries were under the domination of 
the sovereign of Cabul, and we have acknowledged as much in public 
documents; that, with regard to the expedition to Khiva, Count Schouva- 
low was aware that Lord Northbroke had given the strongest advice to 
the Khan to comply with the reasonable demands of the Emperor; and if 
the expedition were undertaken and carried out with the OBJECT and 
WITHIN THE LIMITS described by Count Schouvalow, it would meet 
with no remonstrance from Her Majesty’s Government, but it would un¬ 
doubtedly excite public attention, and make the settlement of the bound¬ 
ary of Afghanistan more important for the object which both Govern¬ 
ments had in view, viz., peace in Central Asia, and good relations between 
the two countries. 

“ As to coming to a decision at an early date, it appeared to me desir¬ 
able, inasmuch as it would bear a different aspect if arrived at in the 
spirit with which both Governments were actuated, and not complicated 
by possible discussions raised in the British Parliament. 

“ I concluded by telling Count Schouvalow that I knew the confidence 
which was placed in him by the Emperor, and that I felt sure that my 
colleagues would agree with me in appreciating his visit to England, as a 
gratifying proof of the eminently conciliatory and friendly spirit with 
which the Emperor desired to settle without delay the question at issue. 

“ I am, etc., 

(Signed) “ Granville.” 


Treaty concluded between General Aid-de-camp Kauffmann , 
Governor-general of Turkistan, and Seid Muzafer , Ameer 
of Bokhara. 

Art. 1 . The line of frontier between the dominions of His Imperial 
Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias and those of His Eminence the 
Ameer of Bokhara remains unaltered. 

All the Khivan territory on the right bank of the Amu Darya being 
now annexed to the Russian dominions, the former frontier separating the 
possessions of the Ameer of Bokhara from the Khanate of Khiva, and 
stretching on the west from the locality called Khalata toward Gugertli, 



THE RUSSIAN TREATY WITH BOKHARA. 


337 


togai on the right bank of the Amu is abolished. The territory situated 
between the former Bokharo-Khivan frontier, the right bank of the Amu 
Darya, from Gugertli to Meshekly, togai inclusive, and the line passing from 
Meshekly to the point of junction of the former Bokharo-Khivan frontier 
with the frontier of the Russian Empire, are annexed to the dominions of 
the Ameer of Bokhara. 

Art. 2. The right bank of the Amu Darya being detached from the 
Khanate of Khiva, all the caravan routes leading from Bokhara to the 
north into the Russian dominions traverse henceforth exclusively lands 
belonging to Bokhara and Russia. The Governments of Russia and 
Bokhara, each within its owp limits, shall both watch over the security of 
the march of caravans and of the transit trade. 

Art. 3. Russian steamers and other Russian Government vessels, as 
well as vessels belonging to private individuals, shall have the right of 
free navigation on that portion of the Amu Darya which belongs to the 
Ameer of Bokhara. 

Art. 4. Russians shall have the right to establish wharves (landing- 
places) and store-houses for merchandise in such places on the Bokharian 
banks of the Amu Darya as may be judged necessary and convenient for 
that purpose. The Government of Bokhara shall undertake to watch 
over the safety and security of the said wharves and store-houses. The 
ratification of the selection of localities for the establishment of wharves 
shall rest with the superior Russian authorities in Central Asia. 

Art. 5. All the towns and villages of the Khanate of Bokhara shall be 
open to Russian trade. Russian traders and Russian caravans shall free¬ 
ly pass through all parts of the Khanate, and shall enjoy the special pro¬ 
tection of the local authorities. The Bokharian Government shall be re¬ 
sponsible for the security of Russian caravans within the confines of the 
Khanate of Bokhara. 

Art. 6 . All merchandise belonging to Russian traders, whether trans¬ 
ported from the Russian possessions into Bokhara or from Bokhara to 
Russia, shall, without exception, be liable to a tax of two and a half per 
cent, ad valorem , in the same way as a duty of one-fortieth is charged on 
merchandise in the Turkistan province. Besides this ziaket, no other 
supplementary tax shall be imposed. 

Art. 7. Russian traders shall have the right to transport their mer¬ 
chandise through Bokhara to all neighboring countries free of duty. 

Ar t. 8. Russian traders shall be allowed to establish caravansaries for 
the storage of their merchandise in all Bokharian towns in which they 
may consider it necessary to do so. Bokharian traders shall enjoy the 
same privilege in the towns of the Turkistan Province. 

Art. 9. Russian traders shall have the right to have commercial agents 
in all the towns of Bokhara, whose business it shall be to watch over the 
regular course of trade and over the legal imposition of customs dues, and 
who shall also be authorized to enter into communication with the local 

15 


338 


APPENDIX. 


authorities. Bokharian traders shall enjoy the same privilege in the 
towns of the Turkistan Province. 

Art. 10. Engagements of trade between Russians and Bokharians shall 
be held sacred and inviolable on both sides. The Bokharian Government 
shall promise to keep watch over the honest fulfillment of all trading en¬ 
gagements, as also over the conscientious conduct of trading affairs gen¬ 
erally. 

Art. 11. Russian subjects shall, equally with the subjects of Bokhara, 
have the right to occupy themselves in the Bokharian dominions with the 
various trades and crafts which are allowed under the Shahrigate , in ex¬ 
actly the same way as Bokharian subjects are permitted in the Russian 
dominions to follow those occupations which are sanctioned by the laws 
of Russia. 

Art. 12. Russian subjects shall have the right to possess immovable 
property in the Khanate, i. e., to acquire by purchase gardens and cultiva¬ 
ble lands. Such property shall be liable to a land-tax on an equality with 
the properties of Bokharian subjects. The same right shall be enjoyed 
by Bokharian subjects within the limits of the Russian Empire. 

Art. 13. Russian subjects shall enter the Bokharian dominions with 
permits, issued by the Russian authorities, for crossing the frontier; they 
shall have the right of free passage throughout the entire Khanate, and 
they shall enjoy the special protection of the Bokharian authorities. 

Art. 14. The Gqyernment of Bokhara shall in no case admit into its 
country any emigrants from Russia, whatever may be their nationality, 
who are not provided with permits from Russian authorities. If a crimi¬ 
nal, being a Russian subject, seeks refuge within the confines of Bokhara 
from the pursuit of the law, the same shall be arrested and delivered over 
to the nearest Russian authorities. 

Art. 15. In order to hold direct and uninterrupted relations with the 
superior Russian authorities in Central Asia, the Ameer of Bokhara shall 
select from among those around him a person of confidence whom he shall 
establish at Tashkent as his Envoy Plenipotentiary. Such envoy shall 
reside at Tashkent in a house belonging to the Ameer, and at the expense 
of the latter. 

Art. 16 . The Russian Government may, in like manner, have a perma¬ 
nent representative in Bokhara, who shall be near the person of His Emi¬ 
nence the Ameer. The Russian Plenipotentiary in Bokhara, as in the 
case of the Ameer’s Plenipotentiary in Tashkent, shall reside in a house 
belonging to the Russian Government, and at the expense of the latter. 

Art. 17. In deference to the Emperor of all the Russias, and for the 
greater glory of His Imperial Majesty, His Eminence the Ameer Seid 
Muzafer has resolved that henceforth and forever the shameful trade in 
men, which is so contrary to the laws of humanity, shall be abolished 
within the limits of Bokhara. In conformity with this resolution, Seid 
Muzafer shall immediately send to all his beks the strictest orders to that 


AN AFGHAN PRINCE ON THE IMPORTANCE OF MERVE. 339 

effect. Besides the order abolishing the slave-trade, commands shall be 
sent to all the frontier towns of Bokhara to which slaves are brought for 
sale from neighboring countries, to the effect that in case slaves should be 
brought to such places, notwithstanding the orders of the Ameer, the same 
should be taken from their owners and immediately liberated. 

Art. 18. His Eminence Seid Muzafer, being sincerely desirous of de¬ 
veloping and strengthening the friendly and neighborly relations which 
have subsisted for five years to the benefit of Bokhara, shall be guided by 
the seventeen Articles composing the Treaty of Friendship between Rus¬ 
sia and Bokhara. This Treaty shall be written in duplicate, each copy 
being written in the two languages, one in the Russian and the other in 
the Turkish language. 

In token of the confirmation of Treaty, and of its acceptance as a guide 
to himself and to his successors, the Ameer Seid Muzafer has attached his 
seal. In Shaar, the 28th day of September (O.S.), 1878, in the month of 
Shagban, 19th day, 1290. 


An Afghan Prince on the Importance of Merve. 

The Sirdar Iskander Ahmed Khan, Baruzkei of Afghanis¬ 
tan, remarks as follows: 

“Lord Granville’s policy in fortifying Afghanistan on one side only, 
and leaving exposed the others to the inroads of enemies, excites my ut¬ 
most surprise. It is like unto a man building a house with three walls, 
and leaving the gable-end to adventurers. 

“ Such is just now the case with Afghanistan. Lord Granville insured, 
as he thought, the safety of Afghanistan in ascertaining its boundary on 
the Oxus, and leaving exposed that toward the north-west, thus opening a 
passage to Russia by way of Merve, to which she (Russia) is already ap¬ 
proaching, as the recent movements of General Lomakin at once indicate. 

“ I really think the English Government has no time to lose by looking 
indifferently at the question. It may be already predicated that Russia 
will certainly take Merve. When that is accomplished, it is equally cer¬ 
tain England will lose her prestige, not only in Afghanistan, but likewise in 
Persia, and then she (England) must have recourse to an expedient after 
the fashion of a Chinese wall on the Indus to maintain her supremacy in 
India. Thus, the national expenditure on behalf of Afghanistan for these 
twenty years past will be merged and finally lost, and that not through 
the treachery of the Afghans, or their unfaithfulness toward England, but 
through the misguided policy of England herself in allowing the most 
powerful invader to take possession of the threshold of the house, and 
then telling the inmates to take care of themselves. 



340 


APPENDIX. 


“ Merve, at this time, is only a refuge for marauders; but let Russia 
possess it, and it will then become a place of notoriety, and one of the 
richest in the world, both for its fertility and well-known capacity for 
the maintenance of a corps of soldiers at little cost: example, five or six 
melons only will constitute a camel-load. Hence the animals which rove 
at large become fat and sleek, without care of the owner, and vegetation 
everywhere is equally luxuriant. In short, if Merve pass into the hands 
of Russia it will regain its former splendor. But the question will not 
rest here, that Russia will take Merve merely, and hold it quietly, but she 
will take the Morgab River also, and march up to it, and thus possess 
all the country. For example, when she leaves Merve, the first country 
worthy of note with which she will come in contact on the same river is 
Ulatan, with its ruined fort, and which was the country of the Salore 
Turkomans for some years after their defeat by the Persians, and who, 
through the invasion of the Teku Turkomans, were compelled to desert, 
and for these fifteen years they have come under the jurisdiction of Herat 
in the fort of Marooghagh, and cultivate its whole territory. The next 
country Russia will seize is Panjdeh, on the same river, where are Sarok 
Turkomans dwelling, which place is nearly equal in fertility to Merve. 
That country was frequently dependent upon Herat; for example, the 
Shah Kamran, the last sovereign of Sadozai, had always a commission 
there, and my father, at the request of the Sarok Turkomans, sent twice a 
commissioner among them to collect the taxes. 

“ One stage farther on, and Russia will come to the fort of Marooghagh, 
and from thence within one stage to the fort of Morgab, which is situated 
on the high-road betwixt Herat and Maimana, and, farther on still, to 
Afghan Turkistan. When Russia shall have reached here, she will divide 
or cut off Herat from Afghan Turkistan, and thus extend her power from 
one side to Maimana, and the other side to Herat Badgheese as far as the 
Coshk, which is separated from Herat Bason by the high mountains of 
Baba. The countries I have named are nearly equally fertile, and also 
favorable to any number of armies marching through. 

“ Russia having established herself in these countries, she will lose no 
time in exercising her powerful influence upon the whole of Afghanistan, 
by sending a mission under the name of commercial or scientific purposes— 
a pretext which is not uncommon to European diplomacy, and which inva¬ 
riably achieves the desired policy. In that case Afghanistan will not be 
able to refuse the Russian mission, as she has done up to the present time, 
the enemy being at the threshold. 

“I can not think that Russia will approach Merve without the secret 
consent of Persia, who must not consent to Russia’s aggression thither un¬ 
less some specious proposition be made, which can not be less than allow¬ 
ing her to take Herat by means of her aid. 

“ Persia must have two points of interest, viz.: First, the legitimacy of 
Merve, which belongs to her of ancient right; and, secondly, the cost of 


AN AFGHAN PRINCE ON THE IMPORTANCE OF MERVE. 341 

two armies which perished there. Therefore Persia must oppose any 
power approaching Merve, or, if she be unable to do so herself, she must 
call for the help of England. Should she do neither (as she has done to 
the present, in not mastering her own territory and leaving it to the 
mercy of intruders), then the whole question has approached a solution. 

“ In my opinion, England has not long to reflect upon the matter indif¬ 
ferently ; she must, as soon as possible, propose to Persia the conquest of 
Merve, and thus prevent Russia from taking it. Should Russia, notwith¬ 
standing, make aggression upon Merve, it will be clear that she has Persia 
in view (not a country left at the mercy of any aggressive power), by con¬ 
quering which no power could legitimately accuse her. In the event of 
Persia’s refusal to conquer Merve at once, it remains that England take 
care of that country, either diplomatically, by ascertaining the boundary 
beyond Merve, or by taking possession of the country by means of the 
Afghan forces, and thus reckoning Persia the closest ally to Russia. 

“Iskander Ahmed Khan. 


“ 8th January, 1875.” 


APPENDIX C. 


Russian Operations against the Yomud Turkomans in July y 
1873 . (Taken from the Vestnik JEvropy.) 

General Kauffmann resolved to exact a fine from the Turkomans, and 
gave orders to commence the collection of the money from the Bairam- 
Shali branch of the Yomud tribe, the most numerous and turbulent branch 
of these Turkomans. The amount of the fine was fixed at 300,000 ru¬ 
bles, and notification of the same was made to the elders of the Yomuds, 
who attended on the general in the beginning of June, in obedience to his 
summons. The elders promised that the fine should be paid, and five of 
their number were allowed to return to their people with notice to that 
effect, while twelve others were detained as hostages. 

At the same time, viz., on the 7th (19th) of July, and without waiting 
to see the result, a force under Major-general Golovatcheff, composed of 
eight companies, eight sotnias, ten guns (including two mitrailleuses), and 
a rocket battery, was advanced from Khiva to Hazarat, where the settle¬ 
ments of the Bairam-Shali Yomuds commence. Encountering only small 
parties of Turkomans, who followed its movements, this detachment at 
once commenced operations on the 9th (21st) of July by seizing a caravan, 
and firing some shells into the running Turkomans. It is therefore evi¬ 
dent that from the very beginning it was not expected that the payment 
would be made, notwithstanding that five of the elders were suffered to 
return to their tribe to collect the money. 

The military operations commenced on the fourth day after the appear¬ 
ance of the elders, in compliance with General Kauffmann’s order. The 
commander of the detachment sent out against the Turkomans did, in¬ 
deed, learn that the Yomuds had not alone not begun to collect the mon¬ 
ey, but that they had struck their tents with the intention of decamping 
and of offering us armed resistance. What credit attached to this intelli¬ 
gence it is impossible to say; at any rate, only three days had elapsed 
from the time of the first announcement to the elders of the imposition of 
the contribution. Nevertheless, although the initiative of the campaign 
against the Yomud Turkomans was not provoked by any acts on their 
part, but was solely taken by the local military authorities, no particular 
significance need be attached to that circumstance. It is a universally 



THE YOMUD TURKOMANS. 


343 


acknowledged fact, confirmed by foreign writers, that the Turkomans are 
marauders. Whether they anticipated us and attacked U 9 first, or we 
them, is a matter of little consequence. The material point is that, hav¬ 
ing concluded a treaty with Khiva* Russia could not allow an element of 
the population to remain free from her influence, which would most cer¬ 
tainly interfere with the fulfillment of the terms of the treaty, a circum¬ 
stance which might possibly necessitate a renewal of Russian military 
operations in the Khanate of Khiva. 

On the 13th (25th) of July, General Golovatcheff encamped his force at 
the Chandyr village, and was at once surrounded by large masses of Tur¬ 
komans. The enemy here made their first display of energy, attacking the 
force on different sides, until the infantry fire, the artillery, and rockets 
finally forced them to turn and fly, the troops following in pursuit for a 
distance of three and a half versts. During this action, Lieutenant Ka- 
menetski with a few Cossacks, forming an outpost, pursued a party of 
Turkomans, and fell into an ambush, where they were all killed. The 
enemy suffered a great loss. The affair of the 15th (27th) of July was, 
however, still more grave. The Turkomans, as it was stated in the offi¬ 
cial report, “ fought with a furious determination; pushing their caps 
over their eyes, they rushed upon our bayonets with sabres and halberts.” 
There was in this action even a “ critical moment,” according to the offi¬ 
cial report, not, of course, in the sense of a possibility of our losing the 
day; that we could not have lost, for in the report there is nothing to 
show that the enemy’s fire occasioned any harm to our soldiers. The 
Turkomans fought principally with cold steel, and it was for that reason 
that they rushed upon our front ranks. The “ critical moment ” occurred 
when one of the Cossack sotnias which was sent forward, being obliged to 
draw back before superior forces, losing its officer, Lieutenant-colonel Esi- 
pof; “ the Turkomans broke through the front of our troops, following 
upon the heels of the Cossacks. Both mounted and on foot, they rushed 
to this attack, armed exclusively with sabres and halberts. Those among 
them who had no horses came galloping to our front, mounted behind the 
horsemen, and jumping down, joined in the attack on our ranks. Bare¬ 
footed, and clothed only in shirts and loose trousers, with their sleeves 
tucked up, and screening their eyes with their left arms, they broke with 
shrieks and shouts through an opening between the 2d Rifle Battalion and 
the 8th Orenburg sotnia , falling on the suite of Major-general Golovatcheff, 
and on his escort. Golovatcheff was himself wounded, receiving a sabre- 
cut on his right wrist.” 

The chief of the staff of the detachment also received a sabre-cut. His 
Highness Prince Eugene Maximilianovitch (of Lauchtenburg) himself shot, 
with a revolver, a Turkoman who attacked him. These unmounted Tur- 


* The treaty was signed on the 12th (24th) of August, 1873, having been ratified 
by the Emperor. 



344 


APPENDIX. 


komans had evidently devoted themselves to death, because they could not 
have hoped to escape with the horsemen who brought them up to the 
Russian front. The enemy was beaten back at all points, and in retreat¬ 
ing were overtaken by shells. 

Our detachment then advanced through the town of Ilyaly along the 
road to Kyzyl-Takyr, without at first meeting with any opposition ; but, en¬ 
countering the enemy again farther on, it had to push its way for eight 
versts through masses of Turkomans. On reaching the Ana-Murat canal, 
it was discovered that the detachment had been proceeding in a wrong di¬ 
rection, owing to its having lost its guides. It should not have marched 
to Kyzyl-Takyr, but to the lower extremity of the Ana-Murat-Bai canal, 
where the enemy was concentrated. Having, therefore, passed the night 
by the Ana-Murat-Bai, the detachment advanced on the next day to the 
lower part of that canal. 

Our losses on the 15th (27th) of July consisted of—killed, one staff-of¬ 
ficer and three privates, and wounded, one general, four officers, and thir¬ 
ty-two privates. According to native accounts the enemy lost only 800 
men. The Turkomans engaged in the action are said to have numbered 
4000 foot and 6000 horse. 

On reaching the Niaz-Sheikh Canal, General Golovatcheff received intel¬ 
ligence concerning the whereabouts of the Turkomans, which compelled 
him to resume his former direction. On the 17th (29th) of July the de¬ 
tachment had another engagement, which was remarkable only for the 
fact that our soldiers captured a large transport escorted by the Turko¬ 
mans, on which occasion the detachment captured upward of 5000 head 
of cattle, 119 camels, and about 3000 arbas (three-wheeled carts) laden 
with various articles of property. The Turkomans fled in great haste, 
leaving behind them not alone their property, but also their wives and 
children; and the official report in reference to this, making no allusion to 
any loss on our side, speaks only of slaughtered Turkomans. 

On the following day, the 18th (30th) of July, General Golovatcheff, re¬ 
turning to his previous halting-place by the Niaz-Sheikh Canal, where his 
(Turkistan) detachment was joined by the Orenburg detachment, and by 
the main body of the Russian troops under General Kauffmann, who, re¬ 
ceiving no intelligence from General Golovatcheff’s detachment, owing to 
the interception of the communications by the enemy, had himself ad¬ 
vanced from Khiva on the 15th (27th) with ten companies, eight guns, 
and one sotnia , leaving in Khiva only six companies with two guns. The 
Orenburg detachment had left still earlier, and in the wake of the Turkis¬ 
tan detachment, reaching Kyzyl-Takyr on the 15th (27th) of July, and 
proceeding from that place to Ilyaly, where General Golovatcheff arrived 
later. General Kauffmann marched first to Hazarat, and then to Zmuk- 
shir; that is, he took the same direction as that followed by General Go¬ 
lovatcheff, but proceeded along the other side of the canal. 

On the 19th (31st) of July all the detachments were assembled at Ilyaly. 


RUSSIAN TROOPS ON THE OXUS. 


345 


The rout of the Turkomans, when our troops came suddenly upon them, 
was complete. A considerable number of them were killed and wounded; 
9000 head of cattle were captured, and the dwellings, crops, and various 
stores of the Turkomans along General GolovatcheiFs line of march from 
Hazarat to Zmukshir were devoted to the flames; altogether about 3000 
laden arbas were destroyed and burned by our troops. Materially weak¬ 
ened, and morally beaten, the Yomuds were dispersed on all sides. 

After the 20th July (0. S.) deputations of Yomud Turkomans came to 
General Kauffmann, appealing for mercy. The commander of the forces, 
nevertheless, proposed to exact some portion of the fine from the Yomuds, 
which should be in proportion to the means which, on inquiry, they should 
still be known to possess. From the other tribes General Kauffmann de¬ 
manded a payment of 310,000 rubles within a twelve days’ term, allowing 
them to make up half of that sum in camels. 

/p *P 7^ 

The three Asiatic Khanates of Kokan, Bokhara, and Khiva, preserving 
only an appearance of independence, and having lost some portions of 
their territories, have fallen under the actual influence of Russia. Kokan 
is isolated from the two other Khanates. Khiva is now separated from 
Bokhara, and Bokhara and Khiva are now entirely open to Russian troops, 
who, at the same time, command the irrigation sources of those Khanates, 
and by that means alone hold the populations of those countries entirely 
at their mercy. 

******** 

Although by the treaty with Khiva our frontier on the western side is 
defined by the old bed of the Oxus, yet it exists, of course, only as far as 
those extreme points where the Khivan territories merge westward into 
the steppes. The points already occupied by Russian troops on the south¬ 
eastern coast of the Caspian lie considerably to the south of the Uzboi 
(the so-called ancient bed of the Oxus), so that here the line of frontier 
must necessarily be formed by the Attrek. It has already been officially 
declared to be our boundary by the Russian authorities, and has been 
practically recognized as such by Persia, our immediate neighbor in that 
quarter. 


Movements of Russian Troops on the Oxus in January, 1874 . 
{From Russian Official Accounts.) 

Later on, it was given out that the Turkomans intended to ravage the 
country appropriated to Russia in the Delta of the Oxus, so soon as the ice 
became strong enough to allow them to pass over it to the Russian side. 

Accordingly, on the 4th of January, Major Dreschern marched from 
Petro-Alexandrovsk with four companies of infantry and fifty Cossacks, 

15* 



346 


APPENDIX. 


taking with him two field-guns and two howitzers. Three days later, 
Colonel IvanofE followed with a sotnia of Cossacks and a rocket company, 
leaving instructions for two companies of infantry, with a troop of field 
artillery and fifty Cossacks, to be in readiness as a reserve force in the 
event of its being required. 

The troops thus left in garrison were three companies of infantry in full 
complement, and a troop of Cossacks, with the garrison artillery, and a 
troop of mountain artillery, or a total of something more than 1000 men. 

The troops forming the expeditionary force were supplied with fur coats, 
felt blankets, and felt boots. 

Arrangements were made for the erection of tents by the local inhabit¬ 
ants at the various places where the troops were appointed to bivouac. 

The average temperature was 5° below freezing-point (Reaumur); during 
the night it fell to 11° and 12°. It was daily expected that the river would 
be blocked with the ice. 

The official reports state that the rumors concerning the hostile inten¬ 
tions of the Turkomans having increased, Colonel Ivanoff ordered the re¬ 
serve force to quit the fort, which it accordingly did on the 15th of January, 
under the command of Lieutenant-colonel Aderkas, provided with every 
winter requirement, with provisions for nineteen days, and accompanied by 
a transport of seventy camels, laden with sacks of biscuits, buckwheat, and 
conserved meats. 

The first intimation of the crossing of a body of Turkomans to the right 
bank of the Oxus was received on the 15th of January, i. e. } on the same day 
on which the reserve issued from Petro-Alexandrovsk. It was then said 
that the Turkomans had made their appearance at Khodj^-Kul (lake) at 
Kipchak, and at the same time it was rumored among the Kirghiz that 
they intended to break past the Russian column to the encampments of the 
nomads of the Dau-Kara, a lake situated about seventy miles to the north¬ 
east of Nukus. 

Subsequently to this it was learned that a body of about 300 Turkomans 
had attacked the fortified post of Mohmut-Kul, but that, failing in their at¬ 
tempt to seize it, they had proceeded to Kipchak, destroying all the tents 
and stores of clover prepared for the Russian troops. 

At Nukus, Colonel Ivanoff found no signs of the Turkomans, but his spies 
brought him the intelligence that some 6000 Turkomans, mounted and on 
foot, were assembled in the vicinity of the Laudan, and all along the course 
of that canal up to Kipchak. It was further stated that these Turkomans 
were under the leadership of Kazy-Murad (one of the deputation of elders 
unwarrantably kept as a hostage during the Khivan expedition [see page 
619], but who succeeded in making his escape), and of a Kirghiz named 
Dosan. The spies reported that none of the other elders of the tribes 
joined in the movement, although they suffered their people to take part 
in it. 

On the 17th of January it was ascertained that about 1000 Turkomans 


RUSSIAN TROOPS ON THE OXUS. 347 

had crossed the Oxus near Kipchak, and had taken the direct road to the 
Dau-Kara. 

Colonel Ivanoff being at this time left with only fifty mounted Cossacks 
(having previously detached one sotnia , with a rocket company, to escort 
back to Petrovsk the officer who had brought the re-enforcements to the 
Oxus), mounted 100 riflemen upon cart-horses, and sent them, under Lieu¬ 
tenant-colonel Dreschern, in the direction of the Dau-Kara, to the encount¬ 
er of the returning escort. This improvised cavalry, without saddles or 
bridles, performed a journey of thirty miles, and, meeting the escort, rode 
back again. 

On the 20th of January Colonel Ivanoff, leaving the greater portion of 
his baggage at Nukus, marched from that place to Nazar-Khan (up¬ 
stream one march distance from Nukus), at which place Lieutenant-col¬ 
onel Aderkas, coming down from Petro-Alexandrovsk with the reserve 
forces, was ordered to await him, being instructed in the mean while to 
send patrols up the river, in order to ascertain the strength of the enemy 
and to prevent him from crossing. At this time the river was only par¬ 
tially frozen over, and it was found that the Turkomans were passing over 
at Kipchak, where the ice was strongest. 

On the 21st and 22d of January the outposts of the united forces of 
Colonel Ivanoff and Lieutenant-colonel Dreschern, which were encamped 
at Nazar-Khan, were harassed by small parties of Turkomans, but these 
were fired upon and kept at a distance. On the 23d the force advanced 
up the river, provided with felts, furs, and ten days’ rations, leaving the 
impedimenta at Nazar-Khan, under the charge of the Kirghiz elders. On 
the same day the force encamped at Kipchak, where the ice was traversa¬ 
ble from three points, taking up a position immediately in front of the 
central crossing. 

The left bank of the river was densely lined with Turkomans, who, while 
the Russian detachment was advancing toward Kipchak, likewise pushed 
on in the same direction. The Russians had barely formed their camp 
when the Turkomans opened fire upon them, but without any effect, to 
which the Russians did not respond. In the mean while the Cossack 
patrols kept the Turkomans from crossing above and below the Russian 
camp. 

Having determined to pass over to the left bank, Colonel Ivanoff sent a 
cavalry force to reconnoitre all the three crossings; and while in this 
manner leaving the Turkomans in ignorance regarding the one he would 
select for passing his troops over, he dispatched Lieutenant-colonel Ader¬ 
kas with two aotnias of Cossacks and a company of rifles, to drive back a 
strong body of Turkomans which had mustered at the lower crossing, 
about three miles lower down the river, and to examine the condition of 
the ice in that direction. This operation was speedily performed, with 
very little firing, and the ice was reported to be of a good thickness. 

On the night of the 23d of January the Turkomans kept up a sharp fire 


348 


APPENDIX. 


upon the Russian camp, and made some bold attacks upon the chain of 
pickets and on a patrol, but were repulsed with heavy losses. 

The Turkomans were chiefly massed on the left bank, opposite the 
Russian camp, believing that the Russians intended to cross the river at 
that point. In order, therefore, to keep them in their delusion, the Rus¬ 
sian commanding officer sent Lieutenant-colonel Dreschern with two com¬ 
panies of infantry and a troop of mountain artillery to occupy the right 
bank of the lower crossing, Lieutenant-colonel Aderkas being at the same 
time ordered to proceed with three sotnias , one company of rifles, and a 
troop of field artillery, to make a demonstration in the direction of the 
higher crossing leading to Kipchak, while Colonel Ivanoff, with the main 
body and the train, remained temporarily in camp. 

The detachment under Lieutenant-colonel Aderkas was soon engaged 
in a sharp fusillade with the Turkomans, of whom 1500, scattering them¬ 
selves over the ice, and, screening themselves behind carts and boats 
brought down by the drifting ice, kept up a continuous fire, accompanied 
by a practice with their falconets from the left bank. The field artillery 
being brought into play, the Turkomans were driven back from off the 
ice. Ordering Lieutenant-colonel Aderkas to remain where he was for 
about an hour, Colonel Ivanoff hastily broke up his camp, and moved 
quickly with all the rest of* his force, and with the train, to the lower 
crossing, where Lieutenant-colonel Dreschern had located a company of 
infantry on the ice midway between the two banks. 

On being informed that the ice was sufficiently strong for the passage 
of the troops, Colonel Ivanoff organized a special column for the occu¬ 
pation of a position on the left bank. Taking with them a troop of 
mountain artillery, the men ran across the river (850 fathoms wide), and, 
firing a volley at the Turkomans massed on the bank, established them¬ 
selves in a strong position. Preparations were next made for the passage 
of the remainder of the force, which was effected with complete success. 
The guns were drawn over by the men, the wheels being bound round 
with felt, and the ends of the carriages placed on wooden slides, in order 
to lessen the friction. Lieutenant-colonel Aderkas had joined the main 
force before the passage was effected. Abandoning his position at the 
higher crossing, he was followed by great numbers of Turkomans. On 
joining Ivanoff’s detachment, however, two sotnias were told off to go up 
the right bank, in order to protect the transports. Seeing that the Rus¬ 
sian troops had already established a footing on the left bank, and that 
the rest of the force could not be prevented from crossing, the Turkomans 
offered no further resistance, and gradually dispersed. 

From the position on the left bank Colonel Ivanoff sent a letter to the 
Khan of Khiva, acquainting him with the fact of his having traversed the 
river, and requesting him to pacify the Uzbegs, and not to interfere in the 
affairs of the Russians with the Turkomans. He also requested the Khan 
to attach an agent to the Russian detachment so long as it remained on 


RUSSIAN TROOPS ON THE OXUS. 


349 


the left bank of the Oxus. On the 25th of January the Russian detachment 
marched to Kazy-Murad, an encampment of Turkomans. Leaving Kip- 
chak on its left, the Cossack cavalry sent in advance demolished all be¬ 
fore them so effectually, that when the main force came up there was not 
a living creature to be seen, fire and sword having already laid waste the 
country. 

Wishing to avoid the permanent dwellings of the people of Kipchak 
and of Mangyt, Colonel Ivanoff proceeded toward the Kuba-tau hills, but 
found, to his astonishment, that the country was flooded. This was a sur¬ 
prise even to the local guides, who knew that the canals were always dry 
in the winter, and were not aware of the fact that the Turkomans had 
destroyed the dam of the Arna canal. 

As the water was rising rapidly over the low marshy lands, Colonel 
Ivanoff recalled the Cossacks, who were continuing their work of destruc¬ 
tion in all directions, and fell back upon' the desolated Kazy-Murad en¬ 
campment, where the Russian force halted on the night of the 25th of 
January. 

On the morning of the 26th the Russian detachment marched through 
Mangyt, the commanding officer assuring the inhabitants that they had 
nothing to fear, and crossing in that town the only existing bridge over 
the Arna canal, proceeded four miles beyond Mangyt, coming upon the 
winter encampments of the Kulchar Turkomans, which were at once de¬ 
molished ; the Cossacks performing the work of destruction at distances, 
while the infantry did it as effectually along the line of march. 

At Mangyt, Colonel Ivanoff had received a notification from the Khan 
of Khiva to the effect that the Yomud Turkomans of Hazarat had given 
in their allegiance. To this Colonel Ivanoff replied that, although he did 
not fully believe in the sincerity of the Yomuds, he would not pass 
through their lands, but would proceed by way of the encampments of the 
Chaudurs, and so back again to the right bank of the river. Taking 
warning by the fate of the Kulchars, the Chaudur elders presented them¬ 
selves on the 26th of January in the Russian camp at Lake Chagat, on the 
north-west side of the Kuba-tau hills, with a moiety of the contribution 
demanded of them, on the condition that they should not be molested. 
They entreated Colonel Ivanoff not to proceed through their lands, but to 
this he would not accede, assuring them, however, that he would do the 
people no injury if they complied with his demands. On the 27th the 
Russian detachment bivouacked at the Ikdyr wells, where another moiety 
of the contribution was paid by the Chaudurs. On the 28th the detach¬ 
ment reached Porsu (about thirty-three miles north-west of Kipchak), and 
halted at Lake Lar. Here the elders of the Imraly, Kara-Dashly, and 
Kara-Ilyaly Turkomans presented themselves with tenders of submission, 
and with some of the contributions exacted from them. 

On the 29th of January, Colonel Ivanoff, with a portion of his detach¬ 
ment, visited the site of Old Porsu, where Prince Cherkaski and his suite 


350 


APPENDIX. 


were murdered in 1717. The place is now a scene of utter ruin, having 
been abandoned by the inhabitants thirty years ago on account of a defi¬ 
ciency of water. Here a triple volley was fired in honor of Bekovitch and 
his followers, and after a night’s halt Colonel Ivanolf rejoined the rest of 
his force. On the 30th of January he camped again at Lake Chagat. 

On the 31st the force entered Kipchak, where it was obliged to wait for 
the opening of the river, the ice having been weakened by warm weather. 
On the 4th of February the river was clear of ice, and on the 5th the Rus¬ 
sian detachment crossed over in boats to the right bank. 

During the stay of the Russian force in Kipchak, Colonel Ivanoff sent 
three sotnias of Cossacks down the river to the Laudan canal, to survey 
the left bank in that direction, a work which had not been done during 
the expedition to Khiva in the summer. These sotnias performed the 
journey (fifty-three miles there and back) in a single day. 


Distances between Main Points on the East Coast (of the Caspian Sea) to 

Astrabad (from Blareniberg). 


Miles. 


From Cape Tuik-Karagan to Peschanni (Sandy) Point. 116f 

“ Peschanni Point to Kinderlinsk Bay. 83£ 

“ Kinderlinsk to Kara-Bugaz Bay. 120 

“ Kara-Bugaz to the extremity of Krasnovodsk Spit. 100 

“ Krasnovodsk Spit to extremity of Dervish Promontory....». 20f 

“ Dervish to Kok-Tepe. 70 

“ Kok-Tepe to Ak-Tepe. 20 

“ Ak-Tepe to Hassan-Kuli Bay. 10f 

“ Hassan-Kuli Bay to Gomush-Tepe. 26| 

“ Gomush-Tepe to mouth of Kara-Su. 20 

Total. 600 


Sary Kamysh - Yol (road) to Khiva. 


Names of Wells. 

Number of 
Days’ March. 

Depth of Wells 
in Fathoms. 

Quality of 
Water. 

Segreshem in Balkan Bay, by the Ok 
Mountains. 


1 

Good. 

Burnak. 

4 

3 

Good. 

Siulmeu. 

H 

10 

Good. 

Siuli. 

n 

25 

Bitter. 

Yazi Eshem. 

i 

2 

Bitter. 

Er-Oilan. 

i 

7 

Bitter. 

Tuer. 

2 

3 

Good. 

Diren Ditnpe. 

H 

n 

Brackish. 

Osiun-Kui. 

2 

20 

Bitter. 

Besh-Deshik. 

2 

1 

Good. 

Khivau Territory. 

3 

— 


15| 




At all the wells on this route there is sufficient brush-wood for fuel. 







































STEPPE ROUTES. 


351 


Colonel Venukoff's Route from Astrabad to Herat. 


Versts. 


1. Astrabad. 45 

2. Shvarkil. 2S 

3. Fenderiks. 17 

4. Pisserook. 40 

5. Shah-Abad. 63 

6. Sinioulgan. 60 

7. Giderabad. 20 

8. Town Boodjnur. 26 

299 

9. Shirvan. 46 

10. Douin. 27 

11. Kabooshan. 30 

103 

12. Beknazir. 37 

13. Seidan. 23 


14. Toos... 

15. Meshed 


16. Kehriz-deme. 

17. Kalian ta A bad. 

IS. Abdal Abad. 

19. Toorbeti Sheh Djemi 

20. A bias Abad. 

21. Kehriz. 

22. Koosan. 

23. Sheresh. 

24. Godrian. 

25. Shikivan. 

26. Herat.. 


Total versts 


Versts. 
. 57 
. 25 

142 

. 33 
, 3S 
. 26 
. 37 
. 33 
, 20 
. 40 
, 19 
, 28 
21 
, 32 

947 

871 


STEPPE ROUTES. 

1. To Khiva from Novo - Alexandrovsk (a former fort) in Kaidak Bay 

(410 miles), across the Ust-Urt, to Aibugir Bay on the Aral. Tur- 
paef, an Armenian, rode this way to Khiva in seven days, in 1834. 
A caravan would be three weeks traveling. 

2. The Mangyshlak caravan route through Baki-Kuduk, by Tabyn-Pu 

and Aibugir, 569 miles; a month’s caravan journey. Water scarce, 
and fodder only along the first few stages. 

3. To Kune-Urgendj from Kinderlinsk Bay, 420 miles. Little water. 

Here, however, proceeding more to the south, the Mangyshlak road 
may be struck, reducing the distance to 316 miles. 

4. From Krasnovodsk, the Sary Kamysh road, according to Muravief, 

546 miles; but according to Markorof about 486 miles. Markorof 
route in all respects the best; falls in with Muravief’s at Beshde- 
shik, and proceeds by that. 

5. From Hassan Kuli (the Degeli route) by Gesli Ata, and then following 

Markorof’s route, twice crossing the old bed of the Oxus, 360 miles. 

6. The Ortokui route, between the two last mentioned, leaving the first 

at the fourth stage, and so reducing the distance by 63£ miles. 

V. From Gomush-Tepe, across the embouchure of the Attrek, and then 
partly following the Degeli route, and partly over a separate route, 
by the Shargel Lake—Vambery’s route. 

8. The Teke route, also between the above two (four and five) to Chin- 
Mahomed and Ortokui, 533£ miles. 































352 


APPENDIX. 


9. From Balkan Bay, along the old bed of the Oxus to Kune-Urgendj. 
According to Dandevil’s inquiries in 1859, it would appear that the 
distance to Kune-Urgendj, from the eastern extremity of Balkan 
Bay, is 385 miles, which can be accomplished in eight days. Fresh 
water at each night halt. 

10. From Krasnovodsk to Kizyl Arvat, through Mulla Kari, 253 miles. 

This route was traversed in 1870 by a detachment. No fodder, 
sands, and little fuel. This route crosses the bed of the Oxus at 
Aidin well, and then passes along the northern side of the Kurren- 
dagh mountains. Beyond Kizyl Arvat it proceeds eastward along 
the base of the Keppet-dagh mountains, through the country of the 
Teke Turkomans. Karys fort, 83 miles beyond Kizyl Arvat; 73£ 
miles farther is Ashabad, and about 200 miles farther still lies 
Sarak, from which, says Colonel Venukoff, Herat is only 133 miles. 
The distance from Krasnovodsk to Herat by this route he estimates 
at 633 miles. 

11. From Astrabad to Herat the road passes through Boodjnur (200 miles) 

—Meshed (362 miles), equal to twenty-six stages, through a popu¬ 
lous country. Entire distance to Herat, 580$- miles. 

Colonel Venukoff remarks witli reference to this route: 

Properly speaking, this great trade route lies beyond the limits of Turko- 
mania, and within those of Persia; but it is in a strategical sense the most 
important of all, even with respect to the Turkoman country alone, which 
it flanks on the south. 


COLONEL YENUKOFF’S LIST OF ROUTES FROM RUSSIA TO 

CHINA. 

I. From the Eastern Boundaries of Manjuria to Gueerin. 

(a.) From the Gulf Possette through Houn-Tchun and Ningootoo. 

Versts.* 

The Bay of the Expedition. 0 At the mouth of the river Tchurha, 

viz., 10 versts by the sea from the 
Novgorod Post. 

1. The town Houn-Tchun- 30 By the valley of the river Tchurha, 

across the frontier (20 versts), 
and then into another valley. 

2. The river Mitchen. 25 By the left bank of the river Too- 

men-Ouli. 


* Three versts are about equal to two miles. 






COLONEL VENUKOFF’S ROUTES. 


353 


3. The river Kachari. 35 

4. “ “ 25 

5. “ Fourcha. 25 

6. Hata. 30 

7. The river Malchouri. 30 

8. “ Hourcha. 40 

9. The town Ningootoo. 20 


260 


10. Village, Koulou-lamouhoo . 20 

11. “ Scharan. 21 

12. “ Birha. 31 

13. “ Talan. 31 

14. “ Omoho-soro. 41 

15. The village Ikessou. 21 

16. “ Touyitoune.... 41 

17. “ Lafa. 31 

18. “ Eguemoo. 40 

19. “ Nishicha. 38 

20. The town Gueerin. 8 


By the left bank of the river Too- 
men-Ouli. Some Chinese huts in 
the valley. 

Through the valley Kachari. Chi¬ 
nese huts. 

<( a « 

Through a hilly country. 

Over well-wooded hills. 

Hills along the river Malchouri. 
Here you cross the river Hourcha. 

versts. 

Hilly country on the left bank of 
the river Hourcha. 

Hilly country on the left bank of 
the river Hourcha. A postal sta¬ 
tion (first from Ningootoo). 

Hilly country to-the north of the lake 
Birtine; cross the river Aicha. 
Hilly country, covered with pine 
woods to the north of the river 
Fouldsehai. 

Over the hills. 
u u 

Over the ridge of Fosschan. 

Through the mountains. 

it it 

Hilly country along the river Echa- 
nebiri. 

Through the valley of Soungari, 
which is crossed near the town. 


302 versts. 

Total. 562 versts. 20 stages. 

The general aspect of the route is hilly and woody. It is thinly peopled, 
and difficult traveling for carriages. There are frequent and heavy rains. 
Many small rivers overflow. Snow in winter. 


(i b .) From the Mouth of Soungari to Gueerin. 


Versts. 

Michael-Semionovsk Station. 


The town San-Sin(Ilan-Hala) 310 


About fifteen versts below the junc¬ 
tion of the rivers Amur and Soun¬ 
gari. 

By the river Soungari in boats. 





















354 


APPENDIX. 


Versts. 


1. Miao-Tzoune. 10 

2. Ordo-Moussoune. 35 

3. Tchungourkoo. 36 

4. Fourchoune. 36 

5. Fossichaine. 38 

6. Sale-Fotekoo. 20 

7. Ficktoo. 52 

8. Sakouri. 41 

9. Lalin-Dogone. 15 

10. Mangou-Karoune. 15 


11. Tenguel-Tchekoo. 15 

12-15. The town Gueerin. 114 

In all, from San-Sin.427 


From Michael-Semionovsk. 737 


Cross the river Hourchoo. 

The details of this route are not 
well known: Chinese road-books 
do not give them. From the 
maps it is seen that there must 
be crossings over the rivers Ma- 
jan, Tchabar, Ficktoo (Ajechai ?), 
Altchoucka, and Lalin. The river 
Altchoucka is some ten versts 
from the Sakouri station. The 
" general aspect of the country: 
slightly hilly, covered with wood 
on its eastern part, and more 
open and cultivated on the west¬ 
ern. The population of the west¬ 
ern part is small. After the tes¬ 
timony of Mr. Brunier and Mr. 
Williamson, the vegetation is 
good everywhere. Great deal of 
marshy land. 

On the river Soungari. 

See route No. II. Stages 33-36. 

By water by the Soungari, 1050 
versts. 


(c.) Other Routes in Eastern Manjuria. 

Besides these carriage roads, which are bad, there are others in the 
Eastern Manjuria, which, to use a Siberian expression, are known under 
the name of tajejni, viz., forest. They are as follows: 

(1.) From the valley Souifoun to Ningootoo .—By this route it takes fif¬ 
teen days to go from Bladivostak to Ningootoo, probably some 300 versts. 
In Russian territory this route leads along the left bank of the river Soui¬ 
foun ; and in Manjuria, by the sources of the Mouren, and along the river 
Kouitoulin. 

(2.) From the bank of the Ousuri River, by the river Mouren to Ningoo¬ 
too .—A caravan road. If necessary, light vehicles can be used. On the 
road you meet with woods and hills; hardly any population. Twenty days’ 
march (more than 400 versts). 

(3.) From the banks of the Ousuri , along Dumane, Firkin , and Voken to 
the San-Sin. — This is a bad path for pack animals; it winds through 
woody mountains. Over 360 versts. 

(4.) From the banks of the Ousuri , by Nour and Voken .—A similar path, 
about 400 versts. 

















COLONEL VENUKOFF’s ROUTES. 


355 


According to Mr. Williamson, there is no road between the towns Sam 
Sin and Ningootoo, but the communication is kept up in summer by boats, 
and in w inter on the ice along the river Hourcha. The explorations made 
by Barbash in 1872 are not yet published.* 

II. From Blcigovestchensk through Tzitzikar to Gueerin. 

Versts. 


Principal town Blagovestchensk 0 


1. The town Aygoun. 31 

2. Ganza (Homnia). 15 

3. Eldjana. 20 

4. Sandjana. 17 


6. An idol temple, Tougousa. 20 


6. Sindjak. 21 

7. Merchai. 21 

8. Sidigou. 15 

9. Simadou. 24 

10. The town Merguen. 29 

213 

11. Eelaka. 36 

12. Kamnika. 21 

13. Boldo. 31 


On the left bank of the Amour. 
Here the river Zeja adds its wa¬ 
ters. 

After having crossed Amour, the 
road leads along its right bank 
through a series of villages. 

A plain. On leaving the river Gan¬ 
za you find the night stage at the 
village. 

Hilly; fairly populated country. 

At first you pass through a valley, 
afterward through a hilly coun¬ 
try. 

By the valley of the river Koumour, 
after which you ascend some ris¬ 
ing ground. 

A descent from the wooded heights. 
Continue the march along the 
river. 

A valley, undulating ground, again a 
valley. 

A valley, a hill. The country is flat 
near the village. 

Over small hills; an open, undula¬ 
ting country. 

Hilly country, fairly populated and 
cultivated. 

versts. 

Hilly country. 

The valley of the river Lolocha. 

Slightly hilly country. Cross the 
river Nemer. On the other side 
of the river Nonni to the west 
there is a small town, Boutcha. 


* These routes were published by Colonel Venukoff in 1873 .—Translator. 
















356 


APPENDIX. 


Versts. 

14. Locha. 31 The valley of the river Nonni. 

15. Nimnen. 41 “ “ “ 

16. Tchachar. 38 “ “ “ 

17. The town Tzitzikar. 31 “ “ “ 

The country is peopled and culti¬ 
vated. The river Nonni is navi¬ 
gable between Merguen and Tzit¬ 
zikar. 

229 versts. 


18. Tamdecha. 28 

19. Ontochon. 38 

20. Dhuhanay. 38 

21. Talcha. 38 

22. Koure (Goulou). 34 

23. Oulan-Nor. 28 

24. Mosin. 22 

25. Tchoukaou. 15 

26. The town Bedounai. 25 

27. Shery. 30 

28. Hotzi. 30 

29. Soun-tcha-boo. 17 

30. Talay-tchjao. 26 

31. Mangou. 26 

32. Tenguel-Tchekoo. 26 

33. Faien. 26 

34. Shouran. 26 

35. Town Boutcha. 27 

36. The town Gueerin. 35 


The valley of the river Nonni. 

u u u 

A village some distance from the 
river. 

The valley of the river Nonni. 

U U (( 

u u u 

a u u 

There are Mongols in the neighbor¬ 
hood. 

U U «( 

u u u 

Near the village is the junction of 
the Nonni and the Soungari. 

Crossing over the Soungari. 


► Settlements in the valley Soungari. 


The road passes by some hillocks. 

The valley of the Soungari. 

Cross the river Shouran ; the valley 
of Soungari. 

The valley of Soungari; cross the 
river close to the town. It con¬ 
tains nearly 60,000 inhabitants. 


535 versts. 

In all, from Blagovestchensk.. .977 versts. 36 stages. 

Taking into consideration the distance from Gueerin to Moukden and 
Pekin, we find that from Blagovestchensk to Moukden is 1381 versts, and 
to Pekin, 2130 versts. 




























COLONEL VENUKOFF’S ROUTES. 


357 


The road between Blagovestchensk and Gueerin is a good one for car¬ 
riages—at least for China. There are postal stations. The inhabitants 
are rich in corn. Parallel with this road there is a water-way; it extends 
for more than 750 versts. It is practicable for steam navigation. The 
whole of this road was mapped out in the year 1870, by the topographer, 
Mr. Nachvalni, whose route much resembles the one given above. It was 
published in 1871 by the West Russian Geographical Society. 


The 


1 . 

2 . 

3. 

4. 

5. 


6 . 

7. 

8 . 
9. 

10 . 

11 . 

12 . 


III. From Gueerin to Pekin. 


Versts. 


principal town Gueerin... 0 

Seoudai. 36 

Eelmin. 36 

Saijan. 28 

Eebadan. 31 

Altin-emel. 30 


Hairsou. 33 

Aigue-Hauton. 40 

Maingou-hay. 28 

Town Khay-Youan-Sian .. 28 

Kaoli (near the town Te-lin) 43 

Eelou. 35 

The principal town Moukden 36 


404 


On the left bank of the Soungari, in 
a valley bounded on the west by 
steep mountain slopes. 

Up the mountain. Hilly country. 

Hilly. 

Cross the river Eelmin. Hilly. 

Cross the river Saijan. Hilly. 

Cross the rivers Eebadan and Itoun. 
To the north of the road lies the 
town Kouan - tchen - tzsee, with 
35,000 inhabitants. It is impor¬ 
tant for its trade. 

Hilly. The valley of Hairsou. 

Cross the river Hairsou; afterward 
the valley. There are hillocks. 

The valley of the river AiguA 

Cross the frontier through the gate 
Ou-youan-boo. 

Hilly. 

Cross the rivers Fan-hay and Eelou. 

A plain. The town is situated on 
the right; northern bank of the 
river Hounouhou. 


13. Zou-bian. 32 

14. Zuy-lou-hay. 21 

15. Bo-tzee-boo. 36 

16. Earl-dao-tzeen.,.. 25 

17. Siao-hay-sian. 25 

18. Town Kouan-neen-tchjeou. 37 

19. Sin-tian. 40 

20. Dou-loou-bo-tian. 13 


A plain. 

Cross over the large river Laohay 
on rafts. 

A plain. 

A plain. 

Slightly hilly. 

A plain; slightly hilly. 

Very hilly; then a plain. 

Cross a river. Hilly. 



















358 


APPENDIX. 


Versts. 

21. Town Zseen-tchjeou-foo... 26 Cross the river Daleen-hay. 


22. Soun-shan. 25 Cross the river Siao - leen - hay. 

Mountains. 

23. Da-chan-tian. 20 Hilly. 

24. Town Neen-Youan-tchjeou 25 Hilly. Lan-Shan and Gan-tsao-leen 

ridge. 

25. Shah-hay-so. 20 Hilly. Not far from the sea. There 

is a bridge over the river Neen- 
Youan-liay. 

26. Tchjun-hia-sho. 20 Hilly. 

27. Tsian-vey. 36 Hilly. Cross two small mountain 

streams. 

28. Town Neen-hay-Sian. 27 Cross two small rivers, and passing 

through the gate of the great wall 
Shan-hay-gouan. 

423 versts. 


29. Town Foo-Neen-Sian. 55 Hilly, and often steep mountains. 

30. Loo-loo-Sian. 25 Mountains. Cross the river Yan-hay. 

31. Town Youn-neen-tchjeou.. 18 Mountains. A tolerably large town. 


It is situated in the valley of Lan- 
hay (Shandoo-hola). 

32. Soo-hay. 27 Cross the Lan-hay, near the town. 

Mountains. 

33. Fin-youan-Sian. 35 Hilly. 

34. You-Sian. 40 Cross the river Shah - loo - hay. A 

plain. 

35. Town Tsee-tchjeou. 34 Cross the river Inn-mo-hay. A plain. 

36. San-hay-Sian. 36 Cross the river San-hay. A plain. 

37. Town Toun-tchjeou. 36 Cross the river Bay-hay (Pay-ho). 

This town is the corn port of 
Pekin. The great stone wall in 
ruins. 

38. Pekin. 20 There are two roads; the northern, 


paved with flagstones, is badly 
kept, and is a bad one for car¬ 
riages. At Palee - tchao there is 
a canal; the southern road is not 
paved. There are many branch 
roads. The first brings you to a 
Manjurian town, the second to a 
- Chinese town. 

326 versts. 

In all from Gueerin.1153 versts. 38 stages. 



















COLONEL VENUKOFF’S ROUTES. 


359 


This is a post-road; but the stages are not always found as indicated in 
the post-books. The ascents and descents of the Lao-doun mountains are 
very steep, and are often washed away by heavy rains. Crossing over the 
mountain streams is also difficult. On this road, the distances from Pekin 
are as follows : 

From Zourouhaytoo, 2227 versts; from Blagovestchensk, 2130 versts; 
from the mouth of the Soungari, 1890 versts; from the Gulf of Possette, 
1715 versts. See for the details in the routes Nos. I., II., VII. 

IV. The Shortest Route from Blagovestchensk to Pekin. 

Versts. 

1-17. The principal town Tzit- 


zikar.443 

18. Village Barchirhay. 19 

19. Village Gamiatay. 24 

20. Village Hatayhay. 24 

21. Small town Tchaul-hauto.. 46 

22. Kara-chersoutay. 40 

23. Datcheman-houdouk. 35 

24.. Hatchjatoo. 30 

25. Mahay. 25 

26. Nomouchin. 47 

27. Hashatoo. 20 

28. Village Boroairgueen. 30 

29. Tchjangoutoo. 22 

30. Kaysou-Boulak. 33 

31. Dalay-hack. 22 

32. Sheenegol. 30 

33. Sain-hack. 36 

34. Kaysou-hodour. 24 

35. Kookootchol. 26 

36. Tchjourgatay. 33 

37. Shara-Nor. 31 

38. Honhotoo.,. • 30 

39. Kouren-boulia. 20 

40. Halmay-Oulan. 22 

41. Hareen-Ousoo. 30 


See the route in Manjuria, No. II. 
Cross the river Nonni on rafts and 
boats. 

The valley of the Nonni; well pop¬ 
ulated. 

A plain. Cross the branches of the 
river Yal twice on rafts and boats. 
Slightly hilly. Cross the Tchaul in 
boats. 

A steppe; good pasture. 

A steppe. 

A steppe. 

A steppe. Cross the river Toro 
twice. Two fords. 

A steppe. Pastures not so good. 

A steppe. 

A steppe. Cross the river Holo. 

A steppe. 

A steppe. Small lake at the stage. 
A steppe. 

A steppe. 

A steppe and hills. 

A steppe. 

Cross over Hara-Mouren; a plain. 
The valley of the river Locha; cross 
the same. 

Hills; a stage. 

A valley. 

The valley of the river Honhotoo. 
Hilly country. 

Hillocks on the right bank of the 
Locha. 


























APPENDIX. 


360 


42. Hohotouy. 30 

43. Town Tchagan-So-Borchan 28 

44. Hara-hoto. 35 

45. Sorabo. 38 

46. Sousaybo. 15 

47. Village Dan-ban. 20 

48. Small town Kuan-tchen... 16 

49. The gate See-fin-Kheou ... 31 

50-56. Pekin. 211 

In all.1576 


The valley of the river Locha. 

U U M 

u « u 

Over the mountains. 

The valley of the river Bao-hay. 

u « u 

a a a 

Mountains. 

See the route in Mongolia, No. VII. 

ersts. 56 stages, of which 28 (equal 
to 784 versts) are in Mongolia. 


This road serves as the post communication in Eastern Mongolia, which 
is at present principally inhabited by a settled population; and as a route 
for couriers between Tzitzikar and Pekin. For the greater part of its ex¬ 
tent it is a caravan road. It passes through a steppe which is rich in past¬ 
ures. Near the village Boroairgueen it forks south-west, passing Heshouy, 
Boro-hoto, Tchjao-hoto, and the sources of Shara-Mouren to Dolon-Nor. 
From this place Boroairgueen is more than 450 versts. 

In former times the road from Tzitzikar to See-fin-Kheou was used by 
the Russian caravans and embassies to Pekin. It is very convenient for 
small detachments of troops, especially for cavalry. 


V. The Shortest Route from Bedounai to Pekin and Moukden. 

Versts. 


The town Bedounai. 0 

1. Hilly-Mangua. 42 

2. Beckheeri-Bayshan. 30 

3. Tchagastoo-Bayshan. 20 

4. Bataranhoui. 35 

6. Arou-Baucso (mount). 35 

6. Narhan-shanga. 40 

7. Village Borotoo. 27 

8. Hosho-Mangua. 35 

9. Shara-Mangua. 50 

10. Tapir-dala. 20 

11. Eeke-Bayshan. 45 

12. Bayshan. 25 

13. Kookoo-guerai. 28 

14. Hara-Bayshan. 19 

15. Tchagan-Hall. 25 

16. Baynooek. 20 


From Tzitzikar, 276 versts; from 
the mouth of the Soungari by the 
river, 700 versts. 

A steppe. 

U 

u 

u 

u 

u 

Mountains. 

Steppe, with mountains. 

Cross over Lcho-hay. Hilly. 

Steppe. 

Hilly steppe. 

Along the river Neerkouy. 

« « u 

« « « 

<< u u 

Mountains. 



























COLONEL VENUKOFf’s ROUTES. 


361 



Versts. 

17. Newtchugal-hoto. 

20 

Mountains. 

18. Village Kalka. 

27 

U 

19. Harelin-Hall. 

24 

u 

20. Abita-Dabagan. 

26 

u 

21. Kamchou-Soborchan. 

15 

u 

22. Koojin-Boe. 

35 

Mountains. Cross to the sources of 



Heen-Lo-hay. 

23. Olo-hoshou. 

23 

On the same river. 

24. Sousay-Bo. 

26 

Mountains. 

25. Dan-Ban. 

20 

The valley of the river Bao-hay. 

27. Kouan-Tchen. 

16 

u u u 

28. The gate See-fin-Kheou ... 

81 

Mountains. 

29-35. Pekin. 

211 

See the route No. VIII. 

In all. 

970 

versts. 35 stages ; of these 28 are in 



Mongolia. 

From the town Bedounai through the valleys of the Soungari and 
Eetoun-Beerri there is a road to the Altin-Emel station, which is situated 
on the main post-road from Gueerin to Moukden. This road, through a 


populous country, was passed by the missionary Williamson. It is 250 
versts in length. And as the distance from the Altin-Emel station to 
Moukden (the route No. III.) is 243 versts, the total amount of versts 
between Bedounai and Moukden will be 493 versts, which is 170 versts 
shorter than that through Gueerin. 


VI. The By-road from Tzitzikar to Houlan-tchen. 


Versts. 


The town Tzitzikar. 0 

1-7. Moseen station.226 

8. Borhee-hatay. 45' 

9. Chabchily. 40 

10. Odoultay. 30 - 

11. Boulaktay. 20 

12. Tchjoho-hoshotay. 30^ 

13. Town Houlan-tchen. 40 


See the route in Manjuria, No. II. 

Through a plain, then a slightly 
hilly country on the left bank of 
Soungari; a well - populated dis¬ 
trict. 

Cross the river Houlan. 


In all. 431 versts. 13 stages. This is a post¬ 

road. 


From Zourouhaytoo to Merguen. Routes from Argouni into 
the Basin of the River Nonni. 

Versts. 

Old Zourouhaytoo station.. 0 On the left bank of the Argoun, 

nine versts higher up than where 
it meets its tributary, the Gan. 


16 

























362 


APPENDIX. 


Versts. 

1. Netouga. 40 


2. A meadow by the river Gan 32 


3. The river Aesken. 38 

4. The river Tchonga. 33 

6. The river Kouldour. 36 

6. The source of Nonni. 26 


7. The river Nonni. 21 

8. “ “ . 39 

9. “ “ . 40 


10. The road forks to Merguen 

and Tzitzikar. 38 

11. The river Houy-Lee. 37 

12. The river Houy-Lee, above 

its junction with the riv¬ 
er Gan. .... 41 


After having crossed the river Ar- 
goun the road goes parallel to 
the river Gan, through a hilly 
country, and by the remains of a 
wall. 

Through the valley of the river 
Gan, and the hillocks which bor¬ 
der it on its southern parts. In 
some parts the road is difficult 
to pass, on account of a great 
quantity of burrows made by 
marmots. 

Partly in valleys burrowed by mar¬ 
mots, and partly over woody and 
grassy hillocks. 

Through the valley of the rivers of 
Aesken and Tchonga, among the 
mountains. 

Over the Hingan; flat, marshy, cov¬ 
ered with beech-trees. 

A steep ascent from the marshy 
valley of Dzergeloun to the Hin¬ 
gan ridge. It is covered with 
woods. A steep descent to Non¬ 
ni. 

Through a woody and grassy valley, 
sloping to the east. 

The same valley, mostly prairies. 
Four fords over the river. 

Over the mountains near the river, 
then again through the valley 
which is covered with woods. 
Here the river begins to be navi¬ 
gable for rafts. 

The valley on the left bank of Non¬ 
ni. 

Over wooded mountains into the 
valley of Houy-Lee. 

Through the valley Houy-Lee, and 
over surrounding hillocks. The 
fords are dangerous at flood-time. 













COLONEL VENUKOFF’S ROUTES. 


363 


Versts. 

13. The Toungouse village_ 17 By some hillocks, along the river 

Gan. The first place where you 
meet inhabitants. 

14. Leedzou, a Chinese village. 24 Cross the river Gan in boats at the 

village. 

15. The town Merguen. 15 A valley. Cross the river Nonni 

in boats, at the town. Here the 
river is seventy sagen* wide, and 
from two to three versts at flood¬ 
time overflowed. 

In all. 477 versts. 15 stages. 

The road is difficult. The country is woody and marshy in the mount¬ 
ains. Carriages can be used with difficulty: a good road for caravans; 
pastures are plentiful. In summer the road is swarmed with insects; 
and in winter the overflow of the rivers is against the traveler. The dis¬ 
tance from Zourouhaytoo to Blagovestchensk through Merguen is 661 
versts. 


1 . 


2 . 

3. 

4. 

5. 


6 . 

7. 

8 . 
9. 

10 . 

11 . 


VII. From Zourouhaytoo to Tzitzikar. 


Versts. 

The old Zourouhaytoo sta¬ 


tion. 0 

The spring Shigeldchee... 20 

The spring Shindunay.... 20 

The spring Yargoutay. ... 12 

The river Mirguell. 25 

The town Kouloun - Boyr 
(Haylar). 29 


On the left bank of the Argoun. 

Cross the Argoun, then through the 
steppe. Plenty of water at the 
stage. 

Three times over mountains. 

A high ridge of mountains. 

In dry weather, scarcely any water; 
in wet weather, impassable. 

Now woods; a steppe, and over slop¬ 
ing heights. Four versts from 
the town you cross the river 
Haylar. 


106 versts. 


Hak. 

Djarmanay.. , 
Hara-Hoshou 
Aeki-Earl.. . 
Mendoukey.. 
Harhey. 


20 A plain. 


20-j 

31 

20 - 
20 
20 > 


The road is very hilly; the ground 
is first wooded, then grass, and 
marsh. At the stations horses 
are to be had. 


* A sagen is seven feet .—Translator. 
















364 

APPENDIX. 

12. 

Irektai. 

Versts. 

... 25 Over a wooded ridge of the Hingan. 

13. 

Boohatoo. 

... 20" 


14. 

Eelan-Obo. 

... 20 

Descend the Hingan, and afterward 

15. 

Baree. 

... 20 

through a well-watered and well- 

16. 

Shavar. 

... 26 

wooded country, near the river 

17. 

Aja. 

... 26 

Yalou. Many valleys and hills. 

18. 

Saraktee. 

... 26 

No large settlements or cultiva- 

19. 

Hara-Hatoy. 

. .. 31 

ted grounds. 

20. 

Koukour. 

... 26, 


21. 

Hanjee. 

... 20 

1 A populous and cultivated valley; 

22. 

Sheetai. 

... 31 

\ hills. 

23. 

The town Tzitzikar. . . 

... 31 

Cross the river Nonni; navigable. 


433 versts. 

In all, from Zourouhaytoo. . . .539 versts. 23 stages. 

This is the Chinese post-road to Haylar, at one time passed by Lang6, 
but probably much changed since then (1736) in details, so that it is dif¬ 
ficult to compare it with the Chinese table of present stages, as shown 
here. 


1 . 

2 . 

3. 

4. 

5. 


6 . 

7. 

8 . 
9. 

10 . 

11 . 


VIII. From the Banks of the Argoun to Pekin. 

Versts. 

Abagaytouy. 0 


The river Haylar. 20 

The lake Dalai-Nor. 25 

The river Oursoun. 30 

The river Oursoun. 30 

Oulan-Boulak. 30 

The river Oursoun. 15 

Bouir-Ee-Oulan-Aergee ... 25 

The lake Bouir-Nor. 29 

The lake Tchaptou-Nor... 40 

The lake Hoytoo-Tossihonor 33 
Ibtartay-Nor. 23 


120 versts from the old Zourouhay¬ 
too station. 

After having crossed the river Ar¬ 
goun, along the hillocks Sheevee- 
Guntey. 

Cross the river Haylar, through a 
hilly steppe; good pasture. 

By the valley of this river, its right 
bank is higher than the left. Both 

banks are marshy. 

<< « << 

Cross over on the left bank of Our¬ 
soun, in order to avoid another 
crossing at the mouth of the river 
Kalka, by Lake Bouir-Nor. 

Along the river Oursoun. 

On the flat bank of the lake. 

A plain. Bad water at the stage. 

A plain. 

A plain—dry at first, marshy after¬ 
ward. 
























COLONEL VENUKOFF’s ROUTES. 


365 


Versts. 


12. Angueertoo-Nor. 38 

13. Boroldgeetoo-Nor. 33 

14. Habeergan. 26 

15. Hara-Oussou. 37 

16. Horhon-Hall. 40 

17. Patchay-Koubour. 31 

18. Honker. 46 


19. Kouldou. 30 

21. Koutourihou-Boulak. 31 

22. Hara-Hoto (village). 38 

23. Kourkai (village). 31 

24. At the foot of mountains.. 39 

25. Hotosseen-Houdouk. 15 

26. The river Perkai. 24 

27. “ Seercha. 33 

28. The spring Boulangar. ... 32 

29. The town Kouan-Chen.... 25 

30. The gate See-fin-Kheou... 31 


880 


31. San-Doun-In.. . 31 

32. Tzun-Houa-tchjeou. 26 


Through grass-covered hills, then a 
marshy plain. 

Sandy, sometimes a hilly steppe. 

A sterile plain, and mountains. 

u u <( 

Cross the rivers Hara - Oussou and 
Intchagan. A plain. 

A plain, partly marshy, and sandy 
hills. Cross the rivulets Horhon- 
Hall and Ten-Birra. 

By a high steppe; past the bitter 
waters of the lakes Keremtoo, 
Koudoun, and others; and after¬ 
ward by the valley of the river 
Balougoura. 

By the valley of Balougoura, and 
neighboring hills. Sands to the 
west of the river. 

By the slopes of the Hingan; good 
pasture. 

A hilly steppe, afterward by the val¬ 
ley of Hara-Mouren. 

The valley of Hara-Mouren; plenty 
of grass. 

Cross over Sira-Mouren; afterward 
sands and mountain. 

Through a well - populated valley. 
Good wells at the stage. 

Hilly; no timber; a grass-covered 
steppe. 

On the road some deep ravines are 
met with. 

Cross the river Seebai. 

The road is in a hilly but cultivated 
and well-populated country. 

The road winds up among the mount¬ 
ains. The Great Wall—end of 
Mongolia. 

versts. 

Cross Lan-Hai over a bad bridge; 
mountains. 

Descend the mountains; afterward 
is a well-populated valley. 


















366 

APPENDIX. 


Versts. 


33. Shee-Main. 

. 31 ) 


34. Zsee-Tchjeou. 

. 31 j 

• By a valley among the mountains. 

35. Sang-Hay. 

. 36 

Slightly undulating vale. 

36. Toun-Tchjeou. 

. 36 

A populated and cultivated plain. 

37. Pekin. 

. 20 

There are several roads: for foot- 


passengers it is better to follow 
the one leading to the eastern 
gate, and which is paved; for car¬ 
riages, more to the south, through 
a thinly populated valley—the one 
which leads to the south-eastern 
gate. 

211 versts. 

In all.1091 versts. 37 stages. 

Of all the roads from the Russian frontier, through Mongolia to China, 
this is the shortest, the best provided with pastures, and the best adapted 
for locomotion. Besides, this road is the most important from a strategic 
point of view, because at first it leads into the most populated parts of 
Mongolia, and then into a country near the Yellow Sea, where all kinds of 
stores can be shipped. For carriages, in its southern, mountainous half, 
it is as convenient as every other Chinese road. 


IX. From the Nertchintsk Boundary , past Lake Dal-Nor, to 

Pekin. 

From the frontier, near the Koubeldjin Light-house, to Pekin there are 
86 stages —1159 versts. It is a caravan road, but it is practicable for 
carts, the more especially for two-wheeled carts. 

Versts. 

The spring Halsoutchee-Boulak 0 Some 35 versts from Tchindant, and 


Kluchevsky. 

1. Olon-Nor. 36 A hilly steppe; many lakes. Direc¬ 

tion southward. 

2. Obodon-Nor. 28 “ “ “ 

3. Houtoo-Baydoo. 47 A hilly steppe. Direction south¬ 

west. 

4. Tcheerokee. 40 Slightly hilly steppe; here and there 

lakes; good pastures. 

6. The river Keroulane. 45 Steppe mostly level; good pastures. 

A stage on the northern bank of 
_ the Keroulane. 


196 versts. 














367 


COLONEL VENUKOFF S ROUTES. 


Versts. 


6. Kondou. 25 

7. Airdenee-Tologoy. 32 

8. Hubto. 53 

9. Holostay-Boulak. 17 

10. Tchortchee-Kebour. 40 

11. Tchono. 26 

12. Ouguestchin. 22 

13. Houloussoutay. 15 

14. Stourhoutoo-Boulak. 44 

15. Tezee-Boulak. 35 

16. Ounegate. 40 

17. Sharaee-Bouritoo. 32 

18. Argai-Tchikir. 36 

19. Habtchellee-Boulon. 35 

20. The sources of Tchikir.... 34 

21. Oboulon. 31 

22. Tagan-Nor. 27 


526 

23. In the steppe. 31 


24. Small lake Horay-Kourai.. 19 

25. The lake Oustou-Kourai.. 38 

26. Small river Tourguen-Iskiar 36 


27. Small river Kourkir. 31 

\ 

28. The village San-Dain. 31 


29. “ You-djao-In... 31 

30. “ Tze-Tzian-In.. 26 


A ford over Keroulane, and then a 
hilly steppe. 

A hilly steppe; good pasture. 

Very unlevel steppe; good grass. 

II ll ll 

A plain ; partly sand, partly hilly. 

A plain; pasture becomes worse. 

First a plain, afterward by some 
hills. 

Partly by the valley of Ouguestchin ; 
partly by the hills. Central Mon¬ 
golia commences. Pastures are 
poor. 

Steppe; in some places hilly. 

Sterile steppe. 

Sterile steppe, then small hills and 
the valley of Tchikir-Ousou. 

Unbroken, slightly sandy steppe; 
turning to the S.S.E. 

A plain. 

ll 

Along the river, which is crossed 
several times. The road turns 
again to the south. 

Over the hills, past many springs. 

A flat plain. The ruins of a temple 
are seen to the west of Tagan- 
Nor ; and still farther to the west 
is the lake Dal-Nor. 

versts. 

Partly over hills, partly sands. At 
the stage it is necessary to dig 
wells. The water does not lay 
deep. 

Hilly and sandy steppe. A difficult 
road. 

A slightly hilly plain. 

A height to the west from the 
mountain Pe-tcha or Hamar-Da- 
bagana. 

Through the valley Kourkir. 

u ii ii 

Through the valley Shandou-hola. 





















368 


APPENDIX. 


Versts. 

31. The village Nan-Ya. 35 Some fords over the Shandou-hola 

(Lian-ho); rather difficult in rainy 
weather. 

32. Hou-Bay-Kheou. 38 The road winds up among the mount¬ 

ains. At Hou-Bay-Kheou is the 
Great Wall, consequently, the end 
of Mongolia, which, for the last 
four stages, is mostly populated 
by Chinese. You begin to see 

- trees after the 26th stage. 

316 versts. 

. T TT . , , K . ( Through a deep valley of the river 

QO ( Lao-Houa-tchen 15 ) „n ) A vu a- 

33. ■< is f *' Hakir, and over the surrounding 

^ . * ( hillocks. 

0 . ( Shin-Houan ... 15 ) ..L, .. 

34. ( Mi-Youn-Sian.. 15 \ * * 30 { The Same valley ‘ 

35. Niaou-Lian-Sian. 31 Cross the river Pey-Ho; the com¬ 

mencement of a plain. 

36. Pekin. 41 Thickly populated plain. 

131 versts 

In all.1159 versts. 36 stages. 


In the year 1689 a large caravan, accompanying the Chinese Mission 
to Nertchintsk, passed this road twice. See Gerbillon, “Second Voyage 
in Tartary,” and Du Halde, vol. iv., page 163, etc. 


X. From Tchindant through DoIon-JS/or to Pekin. 

This road, which really begins, not at Tchindant, but from the Houlous- 
soutay military station, was passed in carts by the merchants Boutin in 
the year 1870. On their return from Kalgan, through Dolon-Nor, they 


followed the same road. 

Versts. 

1. Military station Houlous- 


soutay. 40 

2. Oussoun-Kilee. . 48 

3. Holotey-Nor. 32 

4. The river Ouldsa. 7 

5. Horbouney-Boulak. 48 

6. Soumin-Boulak. 30^- 


From Tchindant southward through 
the steppe. 

Between the lakes Dsun and Ba- 
roun-Torey, and then to the river 
Ouldsa. 

Over some hillocks near Ouldsa. 

By the Mongolian Bousseeff mili¬ 
tary station. 

A firm road; hillocks. 

A firm road; hillocks. The ruins 
of a temple at the stage. 















COLONEL VENUKOFF’s ROUTES. 


369 


Versts. 

7. Koundouloun-Boulak (Ba- 


yan-Doun). 62 

8. The lake Shara-Bourdou .. 49 

9. Kairoulun, the reservoir of 

Tze-Baess. 14 


A stony road; cross over the Ba- 
yan-Doun Mountains. 

Good, hard road. 

Descent into the valley. At the 
station there are shops, a mon¬ 
astery, etc. 


320£ versts. 


10. Tzagan-Tologoy. 26 

11. Hashlar-Torogo. 19 

12. Tzagan-When-Houdouk... 26 

13. Boro-Torom. 23 

14. Tossoun-Houdouk. 22 


15. Batouhan (Dzoun-Boulak). 27-$- 

16. Amoney-Oussou-Hoshun... 37 


17. Hodjou-Boulak. 27£ 

18. Atzanou-Oulan-Hoshun ... 23 

19. Noukoutey-Hall. 22 

20. Baeen-Haylassan. 18 

21. Zashay-Houdouk. 28 

22. Ara-Houbou. 20 

23. The river Dzoulga. 16 

24. Baeen-Dalay. 28£ 

26. Sayhan-Oussou. 24 

26. Ouyout-Hall. 34 

27. Taboun-Houdouk. 26 

28. Ara-Hall. 26 

29. Bandida-Datzan. 38 

30. Takal-gatai. 10 

31. Balgueehay-Houdouk..'.. . 30 

32. Amalon (Chinese hut).... 30 

33. Sirouhan-Hall. 12 


Hillocks. 

Large hillocks in a deep valley. 

Hillocks. 

U 

u 

A spring at the Batouhan range of 
mountains. 

Through the valley of Shara-Shara- 
tey. Poor pasture. 

Hillocks. 

Good road. The stage at the river 
Shonoin-Hall. 

Cross the mountains. 

By some hillocks to a dry river-bed; 
wells surrounded by elm-trees. 

Stony road, then a vast plain. 

Over the mountains into a deep val¬ 
ley. 

Hillocks ; the river flows from west 
to east. 

Over hillocks into a valley. 

Over hillocks, past nomad camps. 

Over mountains. 

Over the Babeenai-Sheelai mount. 

Hillocks, and a vast plain. 

Two fords on the river Shileein- 
Hall. 

A ford on the same river. A road 
over a mountain. 

Hillocks, past rocks and volcanoes. 

Cross over the Kouitoun - Shileein 
crest. 

A river on the north boundary of 
the great sands. 


16 * 
























370 


APPENDIX. 



Versts. 

34. Eehai-Tala. 

32 

Sand hills. 

35. Tzagan-Nor. 

14 

U 

36. Shourganta-Nor. 

21 

“ then a hard road. 

37. Tariatey-Houdouk. 

21 

Partly sands. 

38. Kirimtoo-Nor. 

21 

A vast, deep valley. 

39. Saeetoo-Nor. 

10 

A deep valley. Lakes. 

40. Shandou-Hall. 

32 

Near the ruins of the town Tchjao- 



N ayman-Soumai. 

41. Dolon-Nor. 

20 

Cross the river Shandou-Hall (8 



sagen 1£ arskin*), then hillocks. 


765| versts. 

42. Houminz. 

35 

Mountains. 

43. Ounzhoumil. 

32 

Cross over Lian-hay, and mountains. 

44. Niansa-Houmil. 

28 

Birch-woods in some places of the 



road. Mountains high. 

45. Hodgee-Houn (small town). 

27 

Through the valley of Shelanhee. 



The road to Geyhai. 

46. Dawa-Houmil. 

20 

Ascent and descent. 

47. Shara-Hoto (mount). 

30 

By the valley of the river Founin- 



Tzan. 

48. Boro-Nor (small town). . . . 

24 


49. Seen-Dja. 

20 


50. Shopian-Lan. 

22 


61. Houbay-Kheou. 

35 

The Great Wall. 


273 

versts. 

62-57. Pekin. 

132 

Through a populated country. 


In all.1491 versts. 

From Dolon-Nor to Kalgan there is a road suitable for carts. It is some 
240 versts long.. 


XI. From the Sources of the Onon to Pekin. 


Versts. 

The Asheenguee quarantine 0 

1. The Chinese quarantine on 


the river Onon.. ..:.... 32 

2. The river Baeen-Hall. 29 

3. The brook Sadagueen-Hall. 27 

4. The river Hourhou. 26 


Through the valley of Onon. 
Mountains. 

The Doutoulur range and valley. 
Through the valley of the river 
Dgergalantoui and mountains. 


* An arskin is 0.778 of a yard .—Translator. 



























COLONEL VENUKOFF’s ROUTES. 


371 


versts. 

6. The Tarkiltchee. 36 Mountains. 

6. Keroulun. 40 Hilly steppe. 

7. The lake Darchan-Tzayda- 

hioo. 46 Valley and hills. 

216 versts.* 


8. Kontoul-Boulak. 36 

9. Tayreem (Tourin). 38 

10. Tchagan-Boulak. 46 

11. Sheebartay. 61 

12. Onouin-Tcholock. 32 

13. Ongon-Ailesou. 30 

r 

14. Kara-Manhounee-Habirgan 35 

15. Houlousoutay-Tchagan-Nor 25 

16. Soudetoo. 36 

17. Kodo-Koutchin. 36 

18. Scenzai-Shery. 25 

19. Tarhir. 21 

20. Keterhou (Hederhon). 15 

21. Horho. 15 

22. Habeergan. 26 

23. Seera-Souritoo. 19 

24. Houloustay. 28 

25. Kour-Tchagan-Nor. 17 

26. Kouen-Nor. 25 

27. Koultouk. 23 


Mountains. Steppe; pasture-ground. 

Steppe; in parts salt marshes. 

Hilly steppe, firm ground, and good 
pastures. 

A plain with small hills. To the 
east Onouin-Tcholock mountains. 

Steppe; in some parts stone, in 
some grass. 

A plain; in some parts grass. 

A plain. 

Partly deep sands. Good water at 
the stage. 

Sandy hills. Three wells. 

A level steppe. Good water and 
grass found at the stage. 

Level steppe; sand. 

Hilly. 

Hilly, sterile steppe. 

Slightly hilly, the ground firm. 

Steppe very flat, with small quanti¬ 
ties of deep sand. 

Deep sands upon an unlevel country. 

Deep sands upon an unlevel country. 
The stage by a lake. 

Along the river with high banks, 
over very broken country. 

Unbroken steppe; afterward sandy 
hills. 


* The following road from Kiachta runs to Darchan-Tzaydamoo: 

Versts. 

Kiachta. 0 

1-12. Ourga. 279* See the Route No. XII. 

13-17. Mokotoo... 175* “ “ 

18. Baeen-Airguetoo. 22 On the river Keroulun. 

19. Tono-Ola. 32 “ “ 

20. The river Keroulun. 35 Through a valley. 

21. The lake Darchan-Tzaydamoo. 32 

To Kiachta. 576 versts. 

































APPENDIX. 


372 


28. 

29. 

30. 

31. 


32. 

33. 

34. 

35. 

36. 


37. 

38. 

39. 

40. 

41. 

42. 

43. 

44. 

45. 

46. 



Versts. 

Houjimouk (small lake)... 

21 

A plain; in parts hard ground, in 
parts deep sands. 

The lake Angueertoo-Nor.. 

19 

Sand-hills. Good water at the stage. 

Holbo. 

15 

Sands; many hillocks. 

Kouysou-Boulak. 

20 

Sands; many hillocks (the forty- 
fifth stage from Kiachta).* 

Kon-Nor. 

41 

Very hilly country. 

Boro-Hauton (town). 

10 

Steppe; marshy during rains. The 
town is on the river Shandougol. 

Nogay-Hosho. 

27 

Level steppe; village on same river. 

Tchelon-Balgasou. 

31 

Hilly country, rich in grass. 

The gate Doo-Shee-Kheou. 

15 

Hilly country. 


786 

versts. 

Youn-Tchjeou-Sian. 

20 

Mountains, afterward by the valley 
of the river Pey-Ho. 

Tche-Tchen-Sian. 

25 

The same valley, which in one place 
is inclosed by mountains. 

Tia-Ou-Boo. 

20 

u u u 

Koheen. 

18 

Wide valley. 

Toumoo. 

28'] 


Houay-Lay-Sian. 

18 

The country is mountainous, but well 

You-Lin. 

15 

peopled, and cultivated. 

Nan-Kheou. 

31J 


Sha-Hay. 

21 

A well - cultivated plain, with a nu¬ 
merous population. 

Pekin. 

24 



220 versts. 


In all, from Asheenguee quar. 1221 versts. 46 stages. 

In all, from Kiachta.1582 versts. 60 stages. 

This road is important in this respect, that on it military detachments 
can be moved conjointly from Selenga and Onon, which are divided in Za- 
baykal by the Yablonoff range. For the movement of troops, this road 
is the most convenient of all those which lead to the west. The Emperor 
Khan-See led his large armies by it. The best season for marches are 
the months of April, May, August, and September. 


* From here the road to Dolon-Nor passes the following stages: 

Versts. 

46. The village Airel. 30 

47. Nortoo-Boulak. 35 Mountains and valley. 

48. Dolon-Nor. 30 A flat steppe. 


From Asheenguae quarantine. 993 versts. 34 stages. 

From Kiachta. 1219 versts. 48 stages. 




























COLONEL VENUKOFF’S ROUTES. 


373 


XII. From Kiachta over Our goo and Kalgan to Pekin. A 

Caravan Road. 

Versts. 


Kiachta. 0 

1. The lake Hilan-Nor. 9 

2. Ibitzich. 24 

3. The river Iro. 22^ 

4. Kouitoun. 28 

B. Ourmouchtoui. 27 

6. - Baeen-Hall. 22 

7. Hara-Hall. 34 

8. Horimtoo. 20 

9. Hountzal. 30 

10. Bourgaltay. 19 

11. Arshanti. 22 

12. The town Ourga. 23 


279^ 

13. Nalayha. 33 

* 

14. Haktza-Houdouk. 41 

15. Tchjargalantoui. 40 

16. Giltegentey. 33 

17. Moukotoo. 25^ 

18. Bombotoo. 18£ 

19. Boro-Houtchjeer. 32| 

20. Sheebetoo. 27 

21. Shara-Sharotoo. 19 

22. Boussein-Tcheloo. 22 

23. Koutoul. 35 

24. Saeen-Koutoul. 33 

\ 

25. Moubouloun. 38 

26. Tzagan-Tougourik. 38 

27. Oudai. 45£ 


A plain. 

A plain. Mostly woody. 

Cross the river Iro; a rocky defile. 

Ascent from the valley of the Iro 
to the mountains. 

Descent. 

44 

Mostly in mountains. 

Slopes. 

On slopes and on crests. 

Cross over the mountain Tchana- 
gou; slopes. 

Slopes. 

Ascend to the Gountoui crest, and 
descend into the valley of the riv¬ 
er Tola. 

versts. 

Cross over the Tola, then through 
its valley, and on slopes. 

Mountainous; a stony steppe. 

44 44 44 

Steppe, partly on the slopes. 

Hilly steppe; seventeen to eighteen 
versts to the east are the sources 
of the river Keroulun. 

Unbroken steppe. 

Hilly steppe. The stage at the foot 
of Darchan mountain. 

Hilly, and partly stony steppe. 

u u u 

Slightly hilly steppe. 

Hilly and partly stony steppe. 

Level steppe. Hills from time to 
time. 

<« U <( 

Level steppe. Wells at the stage. 

Hilly steppe. The stage is in a ra¬ 
vine near the welL 































374 APPENDIX. 

Versts. 

28. Gueezeergaeen-Hashun.... 25 Pretty even ground; partly sands. 

29. Haylastoui. 22 Hilly steppe. 

30. Tchoulouk-Tougourik. 19 “ 

31. Koutoul-Ousou. 18 Hilly steppe. The stage inclosed by 

mountains near the well. 

32. Iren-Holoss. 23 Hilly steppe. By the stage some 

wells, and the lake Iren. 

33. Tzagan-Houdouk. 24 Steppe, partly sands. Well at stage. 

34. Boroldgee. 24 “ “ “ 

35. Meengan. 36 Level steppe. A well at the foot of 

the mountain. 

36. Tzsamin-Houdouk. 27 Hilly steppe. A well. 

37. Kobour.... 32 Hilly steppe. A lake at the stage. 

38. Soutchjee. 29 Hilly steppe. A well. 

39. Hashiata. 28|- Hilly steppe. Lakes at the stage. 

40. Shabartoui. 28^- Mostly in a defile in a mountainous 

steppe. 

41. Tzsamin-Ousou. 47^ Mountainous steppe. 

42. Hourbun-Toulga. 41 Steppe and hills; a mud-wall across 

the road; lakes at the foot of 
hills at the stage. 

43. Tzagan-Balgasou. 25 Steppe ; good pasture. 

44. Nordian (village). 35 Steppe. At the spring Bourgasou- 

tay the post-road from Ourguee 
and Ouliasoutij joins the road from 
the west. 

45. Kalgan. 22 Defile. Descent from the highlands 

into the valley. The Great Wall. 

987| versts. 

46. Suan-Houa-Foo. 36 Plain; in one place small mountain. 

47. Tzsee-Min-Ee. 33 Partly by the river Yan-hay, partly 

in the plains. 

48. Sha-Tchen. 27 In the plain; on the road lies the 

town Seen-Bao-An. 

49. Houay-Lay-Sian. 30 Slopes of the mountains. 

50. Fortifications of Tchiadao. 23 Cross the river Houlav. The inner 

Great Wall. 

51. Nan-Kou. 23 By a defile; at the end of it a stage. 

52. Tzeen-hay. 35 A thickly populated plain. 

63. Pekin. 10 “ “ “ 

217 versts. 

In all.1484 versts. 62 stages. 





























COLONEL VENUKOFF’S ROUTES. 


375 


XIII. Branches of the Caravan Road from Ourga to Kalgan. 


(a.) Houndjoui Road. 

Versts. 

Ourga. 0 279 versts from Kiachta; 12 stages. 

1. Soutchjee. 35 By the valley of Tola mountains. 

2. Hashatoo. 30 A very mountainous road. 

3. Haptzal. 26 Mountains. Good well at the stage. 

4. Oulan-Nor. 40 Grass and water become worse. 

5. Olon-Obo. 30 Good well. 

6. Tzsamin-Oulan-Houdouk.. 25 

7. Hakpaktoo. 23 Very little water. 

8. Hododo. 25 Good water. 

9. Mogoy. 23 Stony road. 

10. Bouhsayn-Oussou. 20 Mountains. No grass. 

11. Ouisin. 24 Mountains. Good well at the stage. 

12. Oulan-Tologoy. 22 Very little water. 

13. Kookoo-Daresou. 35 

14. Oulan-Houdouk. 35 Plain, partly marshy, partly sands, 

very little grass. 

15. Sentchjee. 30 Good well at the stage. 

16. Oudai. 30 Difficult road. 

17-32. From Oudai to Tzsamin-Oussou the same stages as Nos. 28-41 of 
the route No. XII.; but from 38, Soutchjee, the following road can be 
taken: 

Ougoundouin-Hoshotoo. 30 From here the pastures improve. 

Hadain-Oussou. 30 

Oulan-Hoshou. 12 

Tzsamin-Oussou. 29 

33-37. To Kalgan. 123 The route No. XII. 


In all, from Ourga to Kalan, 950 versts. 37 stages, that is to say, 6 

more than in the route No. XII. 
The road is somewhat shorter, but 
more difficult. 

(b.) ArgalinsJc Road. 

Versts. 

0-9. Ourga-Shara-Sheerotoo.. 269 According to the route No. XII. 


10. Olon-Bayseen. 23 A range of stony mountains. 

11. Soutchjeen-Oussou. 32 Steppe, covered with many-colored 

stones of a flinty nature. 

12. Houlougour. 18 

13. Abourgaeen-Soumai. 33 A handsome idol-temple. Many 

camels in the neighborhood. 




























376 


APPENDIX. 


Versts. 


14. Dourban-Daretoo. 

.. 20 

Sandy ground. There are pasture- 
lands for the camels in the neigh¬ 
borhood. 

15. Airguee. 

.. 32 

Through the Oudai defile, and into 
the valley. 

16. Oubourr-Oudai. 

.. 35 

Bad grass, and salt-water. 

17. Hashoun. 

.. 26 


These two last-named stages lay some distance away from the stages of 

the same name, shown in the route No. XII. 

18. Haratoueen-Soutchjee.. . 

.. 20 

O~od well. 

19. Tzsoun-Soutchjee. 

.. 30 


20. Batchay. 

. . 25 

By stony slopes. 

21. Olon-Houndouk. 

.. 40 


22. Saeen-Oussou. 

.. 23 

Bad water; a salt lake. 

23. Houtchjeertoo. 

.. 23 

Sand, grass, soulee , injurious for 
horses. 

24. Koul-Houdak. 

.. 20 

Difficult road. Sands. 

25. Shara-Boudourguna .... 

.. 22 


26. Dourma. 

. . 25 

Over sandy mountain. A very diffi¬ 
cult stage. 

27. Tzakildak. 

.. 20 

Mountains and sand. 

28. Alai-Soutoo. 

. . 22 

Mountains and sand. Grass better; 
water good. Sheep graze in the 
neighborhood. 

29. Hara-Tologoy. 

. . 30 


30. Kouitoun. 

.. 35 


31. Tzsamin-Oussou. 

. . 20 

Good pasture-grounds. 

32-36. Kalgan. 

. . 123 

According to the route No. XII. 


In all, from Ourga.. 987 versts. 36 stages. 


Although these three roads, viz., Argalinsk, Houndjoui, and Darhan, 
leading direct from Ourga to Kalgan, are frequented by numerous cara¬ 
vans, they are not suitable for troops, on account of the deficiency of past¬ 
ure-grounds and scarcity of water. Our Cossacks carry a light mail to 
Pekin by one of these roads. 

XIY. The Postal Road from Kiachta to PeJcin. 

Versts. 

1-12. Kiachta to Ourga.2*79 See route No. XII. 

13. Sono-Sholantoo. 19 Through the valley of the river 

Tola, which is crossed at about 
11 versts from the town. 
























COLONEL VENUKOFF’S ROUTES. 


377 


14. Boukouk.. 

15. Dologon. 

16. Tchjargalantoo. . 

17. Ondourdaba.. 

18. Tala-Balik. 

19. Naroun. 

20. Modon .. 

21. Tayroom.. 

22. Boro-Daga. 

23. Baeen-Bilkich ... 

24. Baeen-Hosheegou 

25. Salgoy. 

26. Soutchjee. 

27. Saeer-Oussou_ 


28. Koutoul. 

29. Baro-Obo. 

30. Dsobor. 

31. Salatoo.. 

32. Horban-Naysha.. 

33. Naroun. 

34. Hontchai. 

35. Hashai., 

36. Tougourik.. 

37. Tolee-Boulak 

38. - Soudgee. 

39. Biloun. 

40. Kormachar .... 

41. Tzessi-Hongor.. 

42. Oulan-Houdouk. 

43. Shara-Mouren ... 

44. Tzagan-Houdouk 

45. Olon-Houdouk.. 

46. Boltay. 

47. Shara-Hada.... 


Out of the valley and into a hilly 
steppe. Good grass. 

A hilly steppe. 

U U 

u u 

A hilly steppe. Grass less thick. 

A hilly steppe. 

U U 

Steppe. Grass grows very thin. 

u u u 

Poor vegetation at the stage. 

A small lake at the stage; grass 
very scarce. 

Nearly a sterile steppe. 

U U 

Undulating and hilly steppe. At 
the stage a house and an idol- 
temple. At this point the road 
from Oulasoutay joins on the 
west. 

versts. 

Hilly steppe. 

t( 

U 

u 

Hilly steppe. Poor vegetation. 

Hilly steppe. 

U 

u 

Clean sand. 

Hilly steppe. An idol-temple at the 
station. 

Hilly steppe. Some trees at the 
stage. 

Steppe; a little grass. 

U U 

U (i 

Slightly hilly steppe. 

Sandy steppe; dried-up rivulet. 
Sandy steppe. 

u 

u 

u 


Versts, 

27 

20 

28 

28 

33 

30 

33 

33 

23 

, 28 

. 24 

. 28 

31 

30 

415 

, 30 

. 36 

. 25 

. 22 

. 28 

. 42 

. 28 

. 36 

. 28 

. 25 

, 20 

. 25 

. 33 

. 20 

. 29 

. 27 

. 25 

. 24 

. 22 

. 18 




































APPENDIX. 


378 


Versts. 

48. Bombotoo. 22 Sandy steppe. 

49. Oulaha. 24 

60. Tchjin-tay. 36 Hills. 

61. Tchetchertay. 36 

62. Minhall. 26 Grassy steppe. 

63. Tchjagoustay. 18 “ 

64. Koui-Soutay. 22 “ 

65. Oro-Houdouk. 24 Grassy steppe. The stage at the 

lake near Angulee-Nor. 

66. Halutay. 24 Grassy steppe. The stage at the 

brook Halutay, which flows into 
the Angulee-Nor. 

57. Bourgasoutay. 28 Rich pasture - grounds. The stage 

is near a brook, at the foot of 
hills. 

58. Tchagan-Tologay. 25 Mountainous country; the road leads 

over a plain. 

59. Kalgan. 30 Descent from the highlands through 

a ravine to the east of Nordiansk. 

858 versts. 

60-67. Pekin. 217 See the route No. XII. 

In all.1760 versts. 67 stages. 


This road is for pack animals, but carts can be used. Horses and 
camels are found at the stages. The pasture-grounds are very poor from 
stages 20-55. In some places there is nothing but sand; in addition to 
this, it is 276 versts longer than that of No. XII., so it is only used by the 
Chinese mail. The real route differs a little in names, as well as in dis¬ 
tances, from that published in the “ Military Statistic Magazine,” but is in 
accordance with the “ Chinese Road-book.” 

XV. From Youstida through Dzindzilik to Irkoutsk. 

The greatest part of this road runs through Chinese military stations, 
which may be considered as frontier stations to the governments of 
Tomsk, Eniseysk, and Irkoutsk, although they lie far to the south of the 
frontier, and on the other side of the Tannou-Ola ridge. The eastern part 
of the route, from Dzindzilik to Kossogol, was traversed in 1872 by the 
Minoussin merchant Veselkoff with a herd of cattle. 

Youstid was formerly a Chinese military station. It is at the sources of 
the river Tchoui, in Russian territory. 

Versts. 

1. The lake Dayshour... 30 Over the frontier ridge Sayluguem. 


















COLONEL VENUKOFF’S ROUTES. 


379 


Versts. 

2. Military station Oulasou- 

touaman. 

8. Ouroun-Nor. 

4. Bodogonee-Holay. 

5. Borgitehaytee. 

6. Handagaytee. 

7. Tzitzirgan. 

8. The river Holay. 

9. Military station Airgatee.. 

10. Alack-Obo. 

11. Village Samgatay. 

13. Military station Dzindzilik. 

14. A brook, flowing into Dzind¬ 

zilik ... 


15. Hargana 


16. The river Touskoul. 

17. The river Sheerik. 

18. A brook near the river 

Sheerik. 

19. The river Koss (flows to the 

west). 

20. The river Koss. 

21. The river Tariss. 

22. The mount Takeel. 

23. The river Soouk. 

24. Military station Agar. 

25. The river Mourue.. 

26. “ “ 

27. Steppe. 


► Some 500 versts. 


20 By the river Dzindzilik, past an idol- 
temple. Plenty of food and wa¬ 
ter. The inhabitants are Ourian- 
hee. 

20 Over the ridge of Hargana; very lit¬ 
tle water. The road leads along 
the frontier of Mongolia and Ouri- 
anhee. 

25(?)Cross two ridges, to the north of the 
frontier. 

16 Cross twice more, and over the river- 
Soudute. 

25 Two ridges; good road; plenty of 
grass and water. 

15 High, woody; bad road. 

25 Up the river; good grass. 

23 Cross over a large, naked ridge. The 

river flows to the N.E. 

20 At first to the N.E. by Tariss, then 
to the S.E. by a plain. 

24 By the river Soouk. Good grass; 

many stones on the mountains. 

7 A pass over the mountains, and then 
on the river Agar. 

35(?)A large river, flows to the S.W. 

15 Steppe, with good grass. Trees in 
the hollows. 

30 Many Mongolian nomad camps; good 
pastures. 


























380 


APPENDIX. 


Versts. 

28. Pass the night in steppe .. 20 No timber; hilly country. 

29. “ “ “ 25 No timber; hilly country. Good 

grass. 

30. The river Aigai, 6 versts 

from Kossogol. 30 

From Dzindzilik... 345 versts, traversed by the merchant Ve- 

selkoff. 


For five days along the eastern bank of Kossogol to the idol-temple 
Ourianhow, on the north bank of the lake (120 versts), and from there to 
Irkoutsk-trough: 


36. Tounkoo. 
39. Koultouk 
41. Irkoutsk. 


132 

75 

67 


Caravan road. 
On wheels. 


281 versts. 
In all.1156 versts. 


XVI. From Yousteed to Ouliasoutay. 


This is the so-called road of Beeysk merchants, passed by them in the 
year 1870. The length of the road is 555 versts; the stages were as fol¬ 
lows : 


Versts. 


1. Hatoo-Boulak. 30 

2. Kara-Mangay. 28 

3. Ateheet-Nor. 40 

4. Oussoun-Hall. 15 

5. The river Sheeberee. 32 

6. Hotuel-Boulak. 28 

7. Chinese farm. 38 

8. Sheeneouss. 38 


Versts. 


9. Zerin-Nor. 42 

10. Shabir-Hall. 18 

11. On the river Kounhoui ... 38 

12. “ “ 34 

13. « “ 38 

14. “ “ 38 

15. Ouzoun-Djoul. 40 

16. Ouliasoutay. 48 


XVII. From the Station Souok through Kobdo to Ouliasoutay 

and Kalgan. 

The Chinese military station Souok is 514 versts from Oust-Kameno- 
gorsk. There are 284 versts of carriage road. 

Versts. 

1. The Boro-Bourgasou station 25 Highlands. 


2. The Belou station. 35 Ascent of the mountain, and then 

through a hilly country. 

3. The Elldegai station. 35 At first in mountains, descent into 

the valley of the river Kobdo. 


























COLONEL VENUKOFF'S ROUTES. 


381 


Versts. 


4. The Koto station. 20 Cross the river Kobdo, and through 

the valley of the river Koto. 

5. Ouhasherote. 20 In a mountainous country, over Ee- 

gees-Daba. 

6. Honguerloo. 20 Past the lake Alten-Tchetchey, and 

over some hills. 

7. Hongo. 25 In mountains, and in the valley of 

Hongomeruck. 

8. Shara-Balik. 35 In mountains, across the rivers Aid- 

geegalia, Tarhin, and Tchagan- 
Bourgassou. 

9. The town Kobdo. 35 Mountains first, then steppe. The 

town Kobdo lies on the river Bou- 
jantoo; a fortress is on the north, 
and the market is on the south. 


250 versts. 


10. Kara-Oussou. 32 

11. Sahee-Boulak. 56 

12. Djeergalantee. 34 

13. Karganin. IV 

14. Dourga-Nor. 33 

15. Baga-Nor. 30 

16. Argalantee. 39 

17. Bochoo. 26 

18. Dzour. 20 

19. Baga-Dzeess. 24 

20. Ihee-Dzeess. 21 

21. Houdouk-Oulack. 20 

22. Borho. 28 

23. Aldeer. 21 


24. The town Ouliassoutay. ... 18 

419 


25. Shouran. j . 29 

26. Dagan-Dehlai. 24 

27. Boueentoo-Hall. 21 

28. Ara-Djirgalantoo. 15 

29. Oubour-Djirgalantoo. 19 


Over mountains, and steppe to the 
south end of Lake Ikai-Aral-Nor. 

| A stony steppe. 

At the south-east end of the lake 
Dourga. 

On the river Dzahan. 

} In the steppe along the river Djab- 
gan; a ford can not be always 
found. 

"By the right bank of the river Djab- 
gan, cross the river Yaroo-Hall, 
and other tributaries of the Djab- 
- gan. 

The town has a fortress and a mar¬ 
ket, is situated in a valley between 
the mountains. 

versts. 

Steppe; good grass. 

By the river Boueentoo-Hall. 

it it ti 

[■ Steppe. 




























APPENDIX. 


382 


30. 

81. 

32. 

33. 

34. 

35. 

36. 

37. 

38. 

39. 

40. 

41. 

42. 

43. 

44. 

45. 

46. 

47. 

48. 

49. 

50. 

51. 

52. 
63. 



Versts. 

Oulan-Boumba. 

... 19 

By the river Hobol. 

Hobol. 

.. . 25 

« a 

Dzack-Hall .. 

... 22 

By the river Dzack - Hall. Level 



steppe, bad pasturage. 

Baydarik-Hall. 

... 18 

By the river Baydarik. Level steppe, 



bad pastures. 

Outaeen-Hall. 

. . . 30 

Over a ridge. Sands. 

Ologay. 

. . . 13 

u u 

Hara-Tologoy. 

... 26 'I 


Toui. 

Shaigaldshout. 

.. . 18 
.. . 23 

► Wells in sandy steppes. 

Hobol-Hortee. 

... 22. 


Horida. 

. . . 28 

Sands and rocks. Mountains to the 



north. 

Haraneedoun. 

.. . 18 

Sands. 

Hadatoo. 

... 20 

Sands. The frontier between Ourga 



and Ouliassoutay. 

Ouneegatoo. 

. . . 23 

Sands. 

Ongueinn-Hall. 

... 25 

Sands. Stage at the river. 

Dzeran. 

.. . 33 

Sands. 

Tougourik. 

. .. 25 

Sands. Stage near a lake. 

Tzaptcheer . 

.. . 19 

By the same lake. The road from 



Ourga to Thibet. 

Haraeem-Djeerim. 

. . . 29 

Hilly, sandy steppe. 

Dzirgalantoo. 

. . . 19 

By a defile. 

Loss. 

... 30 

Stony hills; steppe. 

Shoboutay. 

. .. 23 

Steppe; not much grass. 

Baroun-Soutchjee. 

. .. 17 

Steppe. 

Saeer-Oussou. 

. . . 40 

Steppe. Here on the north the post- 



road from Ourga. 


673 versts. 

In all. 

.. .1342 

U 

To Kalgan.. . 

. ..2200 

“ See the route No. XIV. 

To Pekin... . 

...2417 

li 


This is the longest of all the steppe roads between the frontiers of Rus¬ 
sia and Pekin. It is poor in water and grass; and although it is a postal 
road, it is exclusively for pack animals. 































383 J 


COLONEL VENUKOFF's ROUTES. 


XYIII. Roads across Djungaria. 

(a.) From Zaysiansk to Kobdo. 

The Zaysiansk post is 511 versts from Semipalatinsk by the mail road. 


Versts. 


1. Terektee. 18 

2. Saree-Boulak. 20 

3. Oulastee. 25 

4. Another Oulastee. 25 

5. Toumandee. 40 

6. Kok-Boukai. 35 

7. Moukourtoui. 25 

8. The lake Oulungour. 30 

9. Bouloun-Tochoy. 25 

243 

10. Tangergai on Ouroungoo.. 45 

11. The river Ouroungoo. 70 

12. The river Tchingueel. 75 

13. The river Tchagan. 60 

14. The river Bouloung. 50 

15. The Tchajgan picket. 60 

16. The Nareen. 40 

17. The Dabseentoo. 60 

18. The Bathock. 45 

19. The Soudjin. 30 

20. The town Kobdo. 25 

550 

In all. 793 


Over the north slopes of Mouss-Taga 
- and Saour. Plenty of water and 
grass at the first three stages. 


versts. 


Mountains. Inhabited by Ourian- 
hays. 

Mountains. Inhabited by Targoout- 
Kalmouks. 

Mountains covered with wood. Kal- 
mouks-Koshots. 

Mountains. The road joins the Ou- 
roumzosk-Kobdo road. 

The road leads by Ouroungou, then 
through mountains; having cross¬ 
ed over them, it descends to Kob? 
do. 

versts. 

versts. A road for pack animals. 


(6.) From Tchougoutchak and the Zaysiansk Post to Koutioun. 

The first of these roads was a Chinese postal road. When surveyed in 
the year 1871, it was found practicable for carriages. The second difficult 
for carriages, but only in the first three stations. 

Tchougoutchak.4 versts from Baktoff. The Zaysiansk post. 



Versts. 


Versts. 

1. Setair-Modo. 

... 45 

1. Ken-Say. 

. 31 

2. Shara-Houloussou. 

... 60 

2. Tchagan-Obo. 

. 34 

3. The picket Tolee. 

... 20 

3. Dann-Sou. 

. 30 


































384 


APPENDIX. 


Versts. 


4. The picket Yaraatee. 18 

5. The picket Kouldenen.... 20 

6. The picket Outoo. 15 

7. The picket Bouktchour... 18 

8. Village Olon-Boulak. 20 

9. Village Shar-Oussou. 30 

10. Station Kour. 36 

11. Kouitoun. 32 


314 


Versts. 

4. The mouth of the Desbik.. 27 

5. Kara village and Saree-Ai- 


meela. 26 

6. Ak-Sou. 22 

7. Kouroom-Sou. 13 

8. Shara-Houloussou. 22 

9-17. Kouitoun. 209 


414 


The road passes through Kouitoun, from Ouroumtzee to Kuldja. 


XIX. From Kuldja to Hamee by the North Tian-shan Line. 

Old Kuldja, that is to say, Tarantcha. 


1 . 

2 . 

3. 

4. 

5 . 

6 . 

7. 

8 . 

9. 

10 . 

11 . 

12 . 

13. 

14. 

15. 

16. 


17. 

18. 
19. 



Versts. 


Bayanday.... . 

11 

A plain. 


Souidoun. 

32 

<C 


Tchin-Tcha-Hoday. 

17 

a 


Ee-Tay. 

21 



Lian-ta. 

15 

To the south of the pass through 



the Iren-Habirgan mountain. 

Ba-Mo. 

25 

A pass; 

descent to the lake Sayra- 



moo. 


Houstay. 

28 

A plain. 


Takoumtoo. 

30 

A plain. 

Sand in some places. 

Village Dahianza. 

14 1 



Military station Tzsin-Ho.. 

47 



Koum-Tam. 

39 



Military station Totohoy .. 

15 



Military station Kourtoo- 
Kounga. 

10 

► A plain. 

Sand in some places. 

Military station Domboda . 

19 



Military station Boulhatzsee 
The ruins of Kour-Kara- 

25 



Oussou. 

22 J 




370 versts. 


Military station Kouitoun.. 22 A plain. A road passes through 

Kouitoun, from Tchougoutchak 
(314 versts). 

Military station Antzsee- 

Haya. 20 Steppe. Good grass. 

Military station Horgoss.. 25 Level steppe. 






























COLONEL VENUKOFf’s ROUTES. 


385 


Versts. 


20. Military station Oulan-Ous- 

sou. 22 

21. Village Manass, or Kanguee 40 

22. Military station Yan-Balga- 

Soun. 21 

23. Military station Tougourik 26 

24. Village Houtoukbay. 38 

25. Military station Loklon ... 33 

26. Village Houn-Neen. 40 

27. The town Ouroumzee. 22 


Level steppe. 

Level steppe. Cross the river Ma- 
nass. 

Steppe. 

U 

u 

Steppe. Good grass. 

Slightly hilly. Villages. 

Slightly hilly; well watered. The 
town Ouroumzee was the principal 
town of the north Tian-shan line. 


309 versts. 


From here to Hamee there are two roads: the one through Tourfun is 
the shortest, the other through Barkoul is more convenient. We take the 
last. 

Versts. 


28. Military station Hay-Hoou. 26 

29. Village Fou-Khan. 24 

30. Military station Dee-Tzuan. 20 

31. Military station Tzeen-Soui 27 

32. Military station San-Tay .. 33 


33. Village Tzseemsa. 34 

34. The town Hou-Tchen. 29 

35. Small town Keetay. 39 


36. Military station Mouroui.. 25 

37. Military station Ak-Tash.. 22 

38. Military station Oulan-Ous- 


sou. 22 

39. Military station Sabee .... 30 

40. Village Hashoun.,< 29 

41. Military station Ourtoo.. .. 35 

42. Tchjooba-Tzuan. 29 


From here to Barkoul there are 
through Hou-Houay (60 versts), or l 


A plain; well watered. 

Slightly hilly. 

By the foot of the mountains. 

By the foot of the mountains. 

By the foot of the mountains. The 
country is well watered by some 
streams from Bogdo-Olee. 

By the foot of the mountains; 
steppe. 

By the foot of the mountains. A 
citadel on the north side of the 
town. 

A well-watered and populated coun¬ 
try. 

Steppe; by the foot of the mount¬ 
ains. 

Steppe. 

U 

a 

a 

Steppe. 

By the side of a river. 

vo roads. You can go either direct 

the mail road, viz. ; 


17 















386 


APPENDIX. 


Versts. 

43. Military station Sae-Outzsee 30 On the slopes of the Tian-shan. 
From here there is a road through the military station, Lae-Ba-Tzuan, 

to Hamee and Peetchan. 

44. The town Barkoul. 35 On the slopes of the Tian-shan. 

499 versts. 

36 By the foot of the mountains. 

41 By the foot of the mountains. 

36 Over the mountains. 

27 Descent along the river. 

30 A plain. 

170 versts. 

In all.1378 versts. At the time of the Chinese 

dominion this road was a postal 
road. 

From Hamee, through the steppe to the town of An-See, on the river 
Boulougeer, it is 470 versts. The road is a bad one; it runs through a 
sandy steppe. At An-See the road turns to the gate Tzsia-Youi-Houan, 
and then goes over the mountain Sou-Djeou, and continues to Pekin. Pe¬ 
kin is 3541 versts from Hamee, and 4889 from Kuldja. 


45. Military station Koysou... 

46. Military station Soun-Shou- 

Tan. 

47. Military station Nan-Shan- 

Kheou. 

48. Military station Hay-Tch- 

j oo-Fan. 

49. Mount Hamee or Komoul. 


XX. From Kashgar to Hamee, and Farther to Pekin. 

Versts. 


The town Kashgar. 0 

1. Village Shaptoul. 40 

2. Village Yangabad. 30 

3. Baston-Togozack. 80 

4. Keeseel-Darya. 30 

5. Maral-Bashee. 20 

6. Village Bartchouk. 20 

7. Kook-Tchoul. 20 

8. Citadel Tcliay-Skeerin .... 20 

9. Airendae. 20 

10. Otouss-Kamae (Ourtoul- 

Kemanee). 20 

11. Bish-Koudouk. 20 

12. Village Yangarick. 20 


Populated and cultivated plain. 

Along the Keeseel - Darya; in a 
steppe, very sandy. 

By the river Tarim. 

By the river Tarim. Here we meet 
the road from Yarkand, which is 
325 versts distant. 

| Steppe, along the Tarim. 

Steppe, in some parts hilly. 




















COLONEL VENUKOFF’S ROUTES. 


38 1 


Versts. 


13. Fortification Ayhour. 20 ) Steppe near the river Koumarik. 

14. Kalender-Han.. 20 j Cross it. 

15. The town Aksou. 20 A plain, cross the river Aksou, near¬ 

ly 30,000 inhabitants in the town. 
Roads: from Ousha, 120 versts; 
from Kuldja, 480 versts. 


400 versts. 


16. Village Tchjamm. 41 

17. Kara-Youlgoun. 42 

18. Tchartcheek. 57 

19. Ousteem-Keetchak. 38 

20. The mountain Bay. 30 

21. The mountain Sayram .... 42 

22. Keeseel. 21 

23. The town Koutcha. 83 


354 


24. Togounay. 31 

25. Arbat. 82 

26. Village Bugour. 52 

27. Yanguee-Shar. 62 

28. Tchateer. 31 

29. Thertchou. 82 

30. Kara-Boulak. 52 

31. Kourounlai. 35 

32. Kalgo-Aman. 31 

33. Karashar. 47 


495 


34. Village Tobolgou. 47 

35. Village Tchouhoui. 27 


Steppe; mountains to be seen. 

u u u 

By mountains. 

Valley between the mountains. Cop¬ 
per works in the neighborhood. 

Crossing the river Murart. A well- 
watered plain. 

Mountain and plain. 

Plain to the left of the mountains. 

Over the Bayshan, and by the river 
Shardalan; the town is on the 
mountain slopes, it is fortified, 
and has 6000 inhabitants. 

versts. 

A well-watered low country. 

A well - watered low country, and 
slightly hilly steppe. 

« a u 

Along the slopes. 

U U 

Along the slopes and steppe. 

Along the slopes. The road nears 
the river Haydou-Holl. 

Hillocks along the right bank of 
Haydou-Holl. 

Hillocks. Coal mines not far off. 

Hilly; cross the river Haydou-Holl 
before you reach the town. Tur- 
kistanians and Kalmouks live in 
the town. 

versts. 

A plain, partly cultivated, partly 
marshy. 

u u u 



























APPENDIX. 


388 



Versts. 

36. Village Oushaktal. 

. 25 

3V. Aitcherchee. 

. 50 

38. Kara-Keeseel. 

. 44 

39. Koumeesh-Akma. 

. 30 

40. Ahar-Boulack. 

. 93 

41. Soubashee. 


42. Village Tokson. 

. 47 

43. Village Bougoun. 

. 31 

44. The town Tourfun. 

. 36 


461 vt 

45. Kara-Hotchja. 

. 36 

46. Village Louktchack. 

. 25 

47. Village Tchouhoui. 

. 35 

48. The mountain Pitchjann. 

. 27 

49. Souroutoo. 

. 20 


50. Tchjeek-Tash.. . 

51. Nahou. 

52. Toho. 

53. Houtoun-Yo.. . 

54. Taolay-Boulak.. 

55. Lae-Ba-Tzuan .. 


A plain, partly cultivated, partly 
marshy. 

Steppe and hillocks; a village in the 
hollow. 

Hilly steppe. 

By mountains. 

The mountains Koumush-Akma. 

Mountains. From here there is a 
shorter but more difficult road to 
Oushaktal. 

Over the mountains. 

Hilly; over the river Elan-Boulak. 

Hilly steppe. The town is small 
and poor. From the west comes 
the main road from Ouroumtzee, 
160 versts by mountains. It is 
seven stages distant. 


Hills and steppe. 

Hills ; across the river Yanguee. 
Over the mountains Geen-Leen. 
Along the river. 

Steppe; hills on the right. 


20 

93 

62 

36 

36 

31 


U 


U 


66—62. Hamee or Komoul.... 159 


Steppe; by hills to the lake Nahou. 

Along the slopes to the lake Toho. 

Along the slopes. 

In the mountains. 

A military station on the north side 
of the mountains. From here the 
road goes to Barkoul and Hamee. 

The road runs along the south side 
of the Tian-shan. 


680 versts. 

In all, from Kashgar to Hamee. 2290 versts; 
to Pekin.5831 versts. 
























COLONEL VENUKOFF’S ROUTES. 


389 


THE MOST IMPORTANT ROUTES IN TURKISTAN. 

In China we have enumerated only the frontier routes which pass 
through the Chinese dominions ;* we now publish some inner routes, which 
go through our own territories, and continue into Independent Turkistan. 
This we do because there are no route-maps and road-books for Turkistan. 

I. The Road from Semipalatinsk to Vernye. 

This is the best road from Siberia to Central Asia. It runs parallel 
with the Djungarian frontier. It has also a double importance in a stra¬ 
tegical point of view, because it is connected with all the rest of the roads 
which lead from the provinces of Semipalatinsk, and Semiretchensk, into 
the interior of Djungaria. 



Versts* 


Semipalatinsk. 

... 695 

From Omsk. 

1. The picket Oulougoos.. 

... 25 'i 


2. Arkaleek. 

... 22 


3. Astchee-Koul. 

... 27 

► Steppe. Hard ground. 

4. Djartash. 

... 21£ 


5. Keeseel-Moul. 

... 26 ■> 


6. Arkat. 

... 26£ 

Near the Arkat Mountains. 

7. Aldjan-Adeeroff. 

... 24 


8. Ousoun-Boulak. 

... 24i 


9. Inrekey. 

... 26£ 


10. Alteen-Kalat. 

... 22i 

Hilly. 

11. Sergiopol. 

... 26£ 

On the right bank of the Ayagoos 



A fortification and a military sta 



tion. 


271£ versts. 

12. Ayagoos. 

... 31£ 

Hilly. 

13. Taldee-Koudouk.. 

. . . 29 

Across the Ayagoos, by a plain. 

14. Keeseel Key. 

... 23*) 


15. Malo-Ayagoos. 

... 26 

- Steppe. 

16. Djouss-Agatch. 

... 26i: 


17. Arganatinsk. 

... 31 

Sandy hills. 

18. Astchee-Boulak. 

. .. 29£ 

Slightly hilly; no water. 

19. Lapseensk. 

... 34 

Steppe; sandy ground. 

20. Baskansk. 

... 28£ 

Steppe; clay ground. 


* It must be remembered that these march routes were published in St. Peters¬ 
burg in 1873. Since that time Russia has annexed the whole of Kokan.— Trans¬ 
lator. 


























390 

APPENDIX. 


Versts. 

21. Aksouisk. 

. 284- A plain; small quantity of grass. 

22. Abakoumoff. 

. 25£ A plain; good grass. 

23. Village Arasansk. 

21 Mineral waters. 

24. Kopal. 

29 Hilly ; afterward a level country. 


3634- versts. 

25. Ak-Itchkin. 

. 27 A mountain plain, with ravines. 

26. Saree-Boulak. 

26 Over the mountains into the valley 


of Karatal. 

27. Kara-Boulak. 

30 A plain; cross over the Karatal. 

28. Djangeess-Agatch. 

22 A plain; hilly. 

29. Tzaritzeen. 

20^ Steep descent to Koks; a cross over. 

30. Kougalinsk. 

. 25£ Over mountains. 

31. Alteen-Eemell. 

. 22£ A valley. Very many ravines. 

32. Kouyankous. 

. 274 “ “ “ 

33. Karatchekin. 

. 27f Hilly. 

34. Tchingeeldinsk. 

. 33£ A plain. Few ravines. 

35. Fortification of Illiysk. . . 

. 23f Deep sands. Cross the river Hi on 


a raft. 

36. Koutentaysk. . .. 

. 234- A sandy plain. 

37. Karasouisk. 

. 224- “ “ 

38. The town Varniy. 

. 244- Steppe. A small quantity of grass. 


356 versts. 


In all, from Semipalatinsk, 991^ versts. 38 stages. 


II. Steppe Roads in the Siberian Steppe. 

(a.) From Karkaraloff to Aulieta , through the harbor of Berteesh or 
Balhash, then along the west bank of this lake, thence to the river Chu 
below the ruins of Saree-Kurgan, and from there, through a sandy steppe, 
to the mountam road from Yernve to Aulieta. The road is bad. There 
is very little water or grass. It is about 800 versts in length. 

(6.) From Karkaraloff to Tchoulak-Kurgan , through Kara-Mendee, Kay- 
lubay - Boulat, Tess-Boulat, the ford Kasangan, in the river Chu, and 
through a sandy steppe to the west of the lake Karakol; in all, about 1000 
versts. This road is good. To the north of the boundary Kaylubay-Bou- 
lat, but farther on to the Tess-Boulat, water is found only in three wells, 
and that is of a bad quality. From Tess to the river Chu, 70 versts, there 
is no water at all. On the other side of the river Chu the water is salt in 
the wells and in Lake Karakol. 

(c.) From Aktau , through the boundary Djartash to Djulek-Kurgan, it 
is the same kind of road as that marked b. From Djulek-Kurgan through 
Karatau Mountains there is a road to Chemkent. It is about 750 versts 
in length, reckoning from Aktau. 





















COLONEL VENUKOFF’S ROUTES. 


391 


(d.) From Akmoloff to Turkistan, through Kaeebatee, on the river Saree- 
Su, there is a caravan road, which from Kaeebatee leads through the sands 
of Djeetee-Konour and the Golodnaya steppe (the steppe of hunger), on 
the right bank of the river Tchoo. This river is crossed at the ford Tov- 
Tubai, and the road goes on to Surak through a sandy steppe, which 
abounds in saksaool. After Surak it leads across the Karatau Mountains, 
by the sources of the stream Kashkar-Ata. The north and south parts of 
this road are pretty good, but the march through the sands of Djeetee- 
Konour and the Golodnaya steppe is a trying one. The distance from 
Akmolotf to Turkistan is about 900 versts. 

(e.) From Akmoloff to Turkistan , through Kaeebatee, along the river 
Saree-Su, to the ford Karaoutkoul, in the river Chu, then rounding the 
mountain Karatau to the springs Daouh-Hodja, hence to the Tumen-Areek, 
and so to Turkistan, in all about 1000 versts. In the valley Saree-Su there 
are some fine pastures; the water in the river, although a little salt, can 
be used. Between Ayna-Koul and the ford Karaoutkoul it is necessary to 
dig wells, on account of the badness of water in the Bahtee-Koureem. At 
the springs Daouh-Hodja there is scarcely any pasture; but it is to be 
found in the neighboring mountains. For firing, djikda, saksaool,* etc., 
are met with on the greater part of the road. 

The road from Oulou-Taou, Taou, Atbassar, Koktchetarr, and Petro- 
pavlovsk joins the last-mentioned road at Kon-Dombak, on the river Saree- 
Su. The distance from Petropavlovsk to Turkistan is 1500 versts. 

III. The Caravan Road from TroitzJc to Tashkent. 

Days. 


1. The town Troitzk. 

0 


2. Station Mihaylovskaya. . . . 

1 

One day’s journey. 

3. The lake Kourpoueedan... 

1 


4. The lake Yaman-Alakoul.. 

1 

Between the river Tobol and the 



Nickolaeffsk station. 

6. Dombar. 

1 

By the river Tobol. 

6. The forest Yaman-Karagay 

1 

The last forest to the south. 

7. The river Djailebay. 

1 


8. The lake Shageer-Koul.... 

1 


9. The lake Ourkatch. 

1 

Large supplies of salt. 

10. The lake Tchouitee. 

1 


11. The sources of the river 



Kabeerguee. 

1 


12. Sands Kashelack. 

2 


13. The town Turgai. 

1 



13 days. About 450 versts. 


* Bramble-trees.— Translator. 











APPENDIX. 


392 



Days. 


14. The river Djeelantchik.... 

2 


15. The lake Boustche-Koul... 

16. The rivers Kargalai and 

1 


Kaydoul. 

1 


17. The river Moldeer. 

1 


18. Kalmak-Kerglan. 

1 

Probably the place where the Kal- 



mouks were massacred in 1772. 

19. Aispai. 

1£ 


20. The lake Arse-Toos. 

n 

Sands. 

21. The lake Telekoul.. 

H 

u 

22. The well Daouh-Hodja.... 

i 


23. Meen-Boulak. 

i 


24. Yanee-Kurgan. 

i 


25. Turkistan. 

26. Chemkent. 

?' 

[ Along the mail road, or along-side 

1 it. 

27. Tashkent... 

3 


25 days. 

In all. 

. 38 days. About 1640 versts. 

IV. From the Town of Irghiz to KasalinsJc. 

A mail road.* It is within the district of the Governor-general of Tur¬ 
kistan. Good stations are to be found. The town Irghiz is 393 versts 

from Orsk by the mail road. 

Versts. 


1. Djalangatch.... 

20 


2. Katye-Koul. 

18 


3. Djalownee.. 

36 1 

i 

4. Terekli. 

30 


6. Djouluss. 

17 


6. Kara-Koudouk.. 

18 


7. Doungluck-Sor.. 

30 

- Sands for Karakoum. 

8. Koul-Koudouk. 

26 


9. Altee-Koudouk. 

21 


10. Ak-Djoulpass. 

18 


11. Sapak. 

28 J 


12. Kameeshlee-Bash. 

28 


13. Bok-Baoulee. 

34 


14. The town Kasalinsk. 

32 



346 versts, and from Orsk, 739. 

* This road I traveled along myself. Some of the stations have been changed. 
In another part will be found this route as it now exists.— Translator. 
































COLONEL VENUKOFF’s ROUTES. 


393 


Y. From Kuldja to KasalinsJc. 

This road from Yernye is a mail road. It runs through the Russian 
colonies, which may be looked upon as the basis of our operations in Tur- 
kistan, both within the boundaries of Djungaria, Tian-shan, Touran, and 
Khiva. It branches off at different points; the south branches lead into 
inner Turkistan. The above-named roads, from the Kirghiz steppes and 
European Russia, join it from the north. 

The town of Kuldja (old or of Taratchinsk). 


1 . 

2 . 

3. 

4. 

5 . 

6 . 

7. 

8 . 
9. 

10 . 

11 . 

12 . 

13. 

14. 

15. 

16. 
17. 


18. 

19. 

20 . 
21 . 
22 . 

23. 

24. 

25. 

26. 

27. 

28. 

29. 

30. 

31. 

32. 


Versts. 


Yangueeshar. 15 

Hanahay. 37 

Kaldjatt. 23 

Ketmen. 30 

Dardamba. 19 

Tchountchjee. 25 

The ford Telek. 23 

Kara-Toum. 13 

Saree-Tchagan. 30 

Saree-Boulak. 30 

Togoos-Toraou. 20 

Lavar. 19 

Oulkoun-Enko. 21 

Village Mihailovsk. 22 

Military station Sophina .. 20 

Military station Nadejdina. 22 
The town Yernye. 23 


Cross the river Ili. 

► Villages near mountains. 

By the river Tchareen 

On the river Tchilik. 

Carriage-road. 


393 versts. A good carriage-road. 


Village Lubovniy ... 

. 281 

Ousoun-Agatch. 

. 27 

Kastek.. 

. 27 

Targansk. 

. 33 

Otarsk.. 

. 301 

Kourdaysk. 

. 321 

Sagatinsk. 

. 30 

Konstantinovsk.... 

. 23 

Pishpek. 

. 22£ 

Soukoulouk. 

. 231 

Aksou. 


Karabaltee.. 

. 19 

Tchaldeewarr. 

.. 29 

Merke. 

. 221 

Tartee. 

. 341 


17 * 


Cross the river Chu. 

Close to mountains; many small 
rivers, marshy river - beds, and 
ravines. 


































APPENDIX. 


394 


33. Koumareek.. 

34. Akeer-Tubai. 

35. Outch-Boulak 

36. Aoulie-Ata... 


37. Kouyouk. 

38. Terse 

39. Tchakpak 

40. Tulkouba, 

41. Mashat... 

42. Mankent.. 

43. Chemkent 


44. Bourdjar ... 

45. Areess. 

46. Bogoun. 

47. Ak-Molee... 

48. Nogay-Koura 

49. Ikan. 

50. Turkistan... , 


61. Koss-Hissgueel 

52. Saouran. 

53. Arasatt. 

64. Yanee-Kourgan 

65. Tumen-Areek., 

56. Djataktal.. 

57. Misheoulee.... 

68. Djoulek. 

69. Tartougay 

60. Dinartee-Koum, 

61. Djartee-Koum. 

62. Berkasan.. 

63. Beroubay. 

64. Perovsk. 


65. Dmitrievsk... 

66. Petrovsk 

67. Semenovsk... 

68. Alexandrovsk 


Versts. 


22£'| 

29 

30 
24 , 


Close to mountains; many small 
rivers, marshy river-beds, and 
ravines. 


502* of good road. 


30 

20 

28 

28 

30 

12 

25 


Cross over the Talass. 


► Across many rivers and ravines. 


173 versts. 


14 

20 Cross over the Areess. 
30 
30 
17 
19 
22 


152 versts. 


20 

28 

35 

35i'| 

19 
25 
25 
25 

30 - 
25 
25 
18 
16 

20 - 


Along the banks of the Syr Darya 
River. Steppe. 


346* versts. 


28*1 
26*1 
20 * [ 
23f J 


Steppe. To the north of the jun¬ 
gle on the banks of the Syr 
Darya. 


















































COLONEL VENUKOFF’s ROUTES. 


395 



Versts. 

69. Vladimirsk. 


70. Theodorovsk. 


71. Victorovsk. 


72. Karmaktchee (No. 2). . . 

.. 22 „ 

73. Hor-Hout. 


74. Kara-Tougay.... 


75. Illtcheebay. 


76. Ak-Djar. 


77. Ak-Souatt. 

.. 22 

78. Mayleebash. 


79. Bass-Kara. 

.. 22 

80. Kasalinsk. 

.. 18 J 


Steppe. To the north of the jungle 
on the banks of the Syr Darya. 


- Along the Syr Darya. 


In all. 


391£ versts. 
,1928^ versts. 


1-4. Village Ketmen.. 

6. Tchalkadee-Sou.. . . 

6. Karagaylee. 

7. Tcheebeetee-Boulak 

8. The river Kaiguen . 

9. The great Karkara. 

10. The little Karkara . 

11. The river Tounn... 

12. Preobrajenskoye. .. 

13. Ouital. 

14. Koungay-Aksou.. .. 

15. Tchoulpan-Ata. 

16. Tcheerpickskaya.. . 

17. Touraygueersk. 

18. Koutemaldinsk.. .. 

19. Kok-Moinak. 


20. Djell-Areek 

21. Karaboulak. 30 

22. Tokmak. 34 

23. Isseegatee. 28 

24. Pishpek,.' 23 


See the route No. V. 
Over the Ketmen. 

- Through a valley. 

Over the Santash. 

By the river Toup. 


By the northern shore of Issyk- 
y Kul. 

The Bouam defile. 

► The valley of the Chu. 


VI. From Kuldja to Pishpek by Issyk-Kul . 


Versts. 
107 
42 

19 

24 

20 
26 
17 

25 
30 
40 

32 

33 
27 
22 
17 
27 
27 


650 versts. The mail road begins at the 
twelfth stage. 











































396 


APPENDIX. 


VII. From Aulieta to Kokan. 

A difficult bridle-road over the mountains. 



Versts. 


Versts. 

1. 

Outch-Kurgan... 

25 

7. Iskee-Abad. 

. 13 

2. 

Mountain-pass Kara-Boura 

40 

8. Namangan. 

. 20 

3. 

The river Tcheerik. 

35 

9. Turia-Kurgan. 

.. 12 

4. 

Kouree-Tchaneesh... 

30 

10. Sang. 

. 33 

5. 

The mountain-pass Tchan- 


11. Soultan-Bayad.... 

. 21 


eesh. 

25 

12. Kokan. 

. 20 

6. 

Ak-Tash. 

25 

In all. 

.299 


From the village Iskee-Abad to Kokan caravans march through the 
Fergan valley. At Sang they cross the Syr Darya. After this they must 
go across twenty versts of sand. 


VIII. From ChemJcent to Samarcand. 

Chemkent is on the road from Turkistan to Aulieta (see route No. V.). 

Versts. 


1. Ak-Tash. 14* 

2. Begler-Bek. 15 

3. Sharaeehan. . 21* 

4. Djerree. 14 

5. An-Djar. 16* 

6. Kouplan-Bek. 15 

7. Tashkent. 18* 


114* versts. 


8. Niasbash.. 

9. Tashkent station 

10. Tcheenaz. 

11. Malek. 

12. Moursa-Rabat... 

13. Agatchleek. 

14. Outch-Tubai.... 

15. Djeesak.. 

16. Yanee-Kurgan... 

17. Sarayleek. 

18. A stone bridge . . 

19. Djimbay.. 

20. Samarcand. 


19* 
22 
22 
17 
33* 
29* 
20 
14 . 


Cross the Syr Darya. 
► A sterile steppe. 


179* versts. 


23* Defile. 
15* 

15* 

19* 

19* 


In all 


94* 

388* versts. The mail-road. 









































COLONEL VENUKOFF’S ROUTES. 397 


IX. From Tashkent to Namangan. 


1. 

Keliaoutchee. 

Versts. 
. 52 

6. Oroum-Saram. 

Versts. 
. 24 

2. 

Teliaou. 

. 30 

7. Shagan. 

. 24 

3. 

Kam-Rabat. 

. 25 

8. Tchouss. 

. 32 

4. 

Shaydan. 

. 22 

9. Ture-Kurgan. 

. 20 

5. 

Ak-Djar. 

. 32 

10. Namangan. 

O 

. 12 


In all, 273 versts of good caravan road. Suitable for carriages. 


X. From Tashkent to Kokan. 




Versts. 


Versts. 

1. 

Kouiluke. 

. 12 

6. 

Tchilmahram. 

. 32 

2. 

Toy-Tubai. 

. 22 

7. 

Bayboutee. 

. 32 

3. 

Kelsaoutchee. 

. 18 

8. 

Kokan. 

. 8 

4. 

Teliaou. 

. 30 



— 

5. 

Moulla-Meer. 

. 56 


In all. 

. 210 


Cross the Tcheertchik on rafts, at Kouiluke, and the Syr Darya at 
Tchilmahram. 


XI. From Tashkent to Hodjent. 
A mail-road, through a populous country. 



Versts. 


Versts. 

1. Karassou. 

. 34£ 

5. 

Moursa-Rabat. 

. 30 

2. Pskent. 

. m 

6. 

Hodjent. 

. 24 

3. Ouralskaya. 

. 261 



— 

4. Djamboulak. 

. 361 


In all. 

. 170 


XII. From Osh to Djirrak. 


A capital caravan road through Fergana. It is a good one for carriages. 


Versts. 

Osh. — 

1. Assakai. 60 

2. Kokan. 22 

3. Margueelan. 23 

4. Reeshtan. 27 

6. Kokhan. 36 


168 

6. Bish-Areek. 32 

7. Kaneebadam. 24 

8. Karaktcheekoum. 24 


Versts. 


9. Hodjent. 32 

112 

10. Naou. 25 

11. Oura-Tubai. 40 

12. Savat. 32 

13. Zaameen. 25 

14. Djeesak. 55 

177 

In all.467 


From Hodjent to Djirrak the road is good for carriages. 


















































398 


APPENDIX. 


XIII. From Samarcand to Bokhara. 


Through the valley on the left bank of the Zer-afshan. 



Versts. 


Versts. 

Samarcand . 

. . . . — 

6. 

Mialik . 

. 18 

1. Daoul . 

.... 22 

7. 

Boustan. 

. 28 

2. Tchimbay. 

.... 21* 

8. 

Kouyouk-Mazar .... 

. 25 

3. Katee-Kurgan . 

.... 22* 

9. 

Bokhara . 

. 29 

4. Kala-Ee-Davouss . .. . 

. .. . 80 



— 

5. Kerminai . 

.... 35 

• 

In all . 

. 225 


XIY. From Samarcand to Karshi. 


A caravan road through a hilly country ; no streams, but plenty of wells. 
Abundance of water. 




Versts. 

Versts. 

1. 

In the valley of Miankal . 

. 30 

5. Koungour-Taou . .. . 

. 15 

2. 

Diamm. 

. 40 

6. Karshi. 

. 17 

3. 

w 

Shour-Koudouk. 

. 29 



4. 

Kara-Tegueen. 

. 12 

In all. 

. 133 


XV. From Bokhara to Belldjouan. 



Versts. 

Versts. 

1. Kogan. 

... 8 

15. Darvan. 

. 16 

2. Mamo-Djourgatee. 

... 16 

16. Baysoon. 

. 24 

3. Karaoul-Tepai. 

... 16 

17. Kalulce. 

. 36 

4. Kakeer. 

... 24 

18. Mirshad. 

. 16 

5. Hodja-Mouborak .... 

... 20 

19. Deehnaou. 


6. Bousourg-Serbaba .... 

... 24 

20. Dashnawat. 


7. Pidna. 

... 12 

21. Reegar. 


8. Karshi. 


22. Guessar. 




23. Demambai. 

. 26 


136 

24. Feyzabad. 

. 15 

9. Yankent. 

... 20 

25. Norak. 


10. Gousar. 

.... 24 

26. Duert-Koul. 

. 24 

11. Bibee-Karagatch .... 

.... 24 

27. Kongour. 


12. Tchamkaya. 


28. Belldjouan. 


13 TTahsnn.. 

.... 12 



14. Arbat.-. 


In all. 





















































COLONEL VENUKOFF’S ROUTES. 


399 


XYI. From Bokhara to Balkh. 




Versts. 

Versts. 

1. 

Karshi. 


8. Seerdaba. 

.. 20 

2. 

Kara-Tepai. 


9. Farrahabad. 

.. 22 

3. 

Kirkeendjeek. 


10. Tchoutchak [ 

so 

4. 

Kees-Koudouk. 


11. Balkt ) 


5. 

Shour-Koudouk. 

.... 32 



6. 

Irakbitan. 

.... 15 

In all. 

.. 400 

7. 

Hodja-Sala. 

.... 17 




XVII. 

From Bokhara to Merve. 




Versts. 

Versts. 

1. 

Shar-Islam. 

. 24 

8. Balgoui. 

.. 25 

2. 

Karakoul. 

.... 32 

9. Nizasher. 

.. 60 

3. 

Ardan. 

.... 36 

10. Kaltcha. 

.. 30 

4. 

Dengees. 

.... 28 

11. Merve. 

.. 40 

5. 

Tchardjoui (Amu Darya).. 32 


— 

6. 

Kouttaminar. 

.... 30 

In all. 

.. 367 

7. 

Shirk-Rabat. 

.... 30 




XVIII. 

From Bokhara to Maimene. 




Versts. 

Versts. 

1. 

Hosh-Rabat. 


7. Hor-Abat. 


2. 

Shaha . 


8. Kagdeef-Kala. 


3. 

Karalindai. 


9. Maimene. 

.. 130 

4. 

Kirkee (Amu Darya) 

.... 180 


— 

5. 

Aktcha. 


In all. 

.. 455 

6. 

Andhoui. 

.... 145 




XIX. The Bactrian Road. 




Versts. 

Versts. 

1. 

Andhoui from Maimene... 130 

11. Tuleehan. 

. 28 

2. 

Aktcha'. 


12. Hibard. 

. m 

3. 

Tchoutchak. 


13. Roustak. 

. 16 

4. 

Tachtanoul. 

.... 150 

14. Alkaseem. 

. 13 

5. 

Mezar. 


15. Atam-yad. 

. 22| 

6. 

Kohrabash. 


16. Tchchardourra. 

. 17 

7. 

Houloum. 


17. Feysabad (Badakshan). 

. 12 

8. 

Abdan. 




9. 

Koundous. 

.... 48 

In all. 

. 548 

10. 

Halabad. 

.... 19 




This road is mentioned by BorriS, Wood, and “Mirsa.” 

























































400 


APPENDIX. 


XX. From Kolcan to Kashgar. 


Osh is 168 versts from Kokan, as in the route No. XII. From Osh 
three different routes are given by the natives ; but, on looking at the list, 
they appear to resolve themselves into one, except at one place: 



Versts. 

Versts. 


Versts. 

Madee. 

.. H 

Langer. 

3 

Madee. 

.. 2 

Kablan-Kol. 

.. 8* 

Kablan-Kol. 

4 

Kablan-Kol.... 

.. 4 

Houlsha. 

.. 2 

Houlsha. 

4 

Houlsha. 

. . 3 

Keeseel-Kurgan. 

.. 4 

Keeseel-Kurgan.. 

4 

Keeseel-Kurgan 

.. 3 

Sofoo-Kurgan.. . 

. . 3 

Sofoo-Karaoul.... 

3 

Sofoo-Karaoul.. 

.. 3 

Djerday. 

.. 3 

Sourf a. 

3 

Shart (mount).. 

.. 3 

Terek-Davan.. . . 

.. 2 

Terek-Davan. 

2i 

Alay. 

.. 3 

Ak-Suouk. 

.. 3 

Sarat. 

3 

Analma. 

. . 3 

Kok-Sou. 

.. 3 

Ars-Souyouk. 

3 

Togoy-Boree... 

. . 4 

Aygeesek. 

. . 4 

Togoy-Tobai. 

3 

Terek-Davan... 

. . 3 

Togoy-Basha.... 

.. 3 

Djeegueen. 

4 

Alb-Souyouk. . . 

.. 2 

Djeegueen. 

.. 4 

N agaree-Tchaloua. 

4 

Aygueesek. 

.. 3 

Meen-Tour. 

.. 2 

Korgan. 

3 

Korouan-Kol.. . 

. . 3 

Roman-Koul. . . . 

.. 2i 

Seeree-Ketchek... 

3 

Djeegueen. 

. . 4 

Yasteeketchou.. 

.. 2* 

Korgashin-Kan... 

3 

Korgan. 

.. 3£ 

Ok-Sallach. 

.. 5 

Kondjee-hallee... 

5 

Yasteeketchou . 

.. 2 

Shoch-Boulak.. . 

.. 3 

Meen-yoll. 

5 

Ok-Sarach. 

. . 5 

Kanjeegalee . . . . 

.. 3 

Kashgar. 

5 

Shor-Boulak. .. 

.. 3 

Meen-yoll. 

.. 3 



Kanjeegalee ... 

.. 3 

Kashgar. 

.. 5 



Meen-yoll. 

•• 2* 





Karaoul-Keeta . 

.. 8* 





Kashgar. 

. . 5 

In all. 

.. 63 

In all. 

64£ 

In all. 

.. m 


There are no settlements on the roads, and caravans rest under the 
open sky, where convenient, and near the brooks or wells. The mountain¬ 
ous character of the country past Sofoo-Karaoul forces the traveler some¬ 
times to make detours. 


XXI. From Kolcan to Koulab. 

The details of this road were obtained by questioning the natives.* 
Mountainous, a road for pack animals. 


* It must be remembered that the^e marches were first published in 1873. The 
Russians know more about Kokan now.— Translator. 























































COLONEL VENUKOFF’s ROUTES. 


401 


1. Kokan. 

2. Saree-Kurgan . 

3. Kishtan. 

4. Feysabad. 

5. Yarmasar. 

6. Aval. 

7. Outch-Kurgan 

8. Langar. 

9. Kok-Sou. 

10. Karamouk.... 

11. Sheergatan.. .. 

12. Peeldan. 

13. Sockaou. 

14. Langar-Sha. .. 

15. Pere-Sha-Kend 

16. Tchivaldar.... 

17. Talbar. 

18. Zibback. 

19. Ak-Sou. 

20. Hvalin.. 

21. Hanabad. 

22. Koulab. 


"In Kokan territory. 

j" Karategueen. 

Darvas (?) 

Koulab. 


XXII. From Dyzzak to Khiva. 


Versts. 


1. Klee. 12 

2. Village Nouska. 33 

3. Village Outch-Ma. 35 

4. Village Farish. 16 

6. Village Selibash. 18 


6. Village Temir-Kabouk.... 24 

7. The well Balta-Saldeer.... 26 

8. The well Bish-Bayguee ... 32 


9. Bay-Man-Taptee. 26 

10. The well Mastchee. 19£ 

11. The well Ayak. 15 


A carriage-road. Mountains on the 
left. 

Good road. Four small rivers. 

Stony road. 

Very stony. 

Not suitable for carriages. 

Very little grass; plenty of fire¬ 
wood. 

Heavy sands; plenty of water and 
fire-wood. 

A plain; some sand ; plenty of good 
water; pasture for three versts. 

An even road, a little sandy; water 
pretty good; food and fire - wood 
can be obtained. 

Hilly, hard road. Fresh water; plen¬ 
ty of food and fuel. 

































402 


APPENDIX. 


Versts. 

12. The well Aristan-Bell-Kou- 


douk. 25 

13. The well Manat-Djamm... 23 

14. The well Kinderlee. 14^ 

15. The well Karak-Ata. 8 

16. The well Tchohrk-Koudouk 30£ 

17. Soultan-Bibee. 40 

18. Outch-Koudouk. 17£ 

19. Djangueelda. 26 

20. Hala-Ata. 15|- 

21. The well Adam-Krilgan... 28 

22. Outch-Tchoutchak. 48 

23. Ishkai-Yar. 20 I 

24. Maneklee. 20 >• 

25. Shourahan. 76 ) 

26. The town Hankee. 30 

27. The town Khiva. 50 


Sterile, hilly, and sandy country; 

good water. 

Over the ridge Arslan. 

Much water. 


The sands An-Koum. 
By the Amu-Darya. 

Along the Amu-Darya. 


In all 


708 versts. 


The troops can do this distance in seventy days. This is the road over 
which the Turkistan detachment marched in the year 1873. 


XXIII. From Perovsky to Irkibai. 

A bad, sandy road, without pastures, along Jana-Darya. 


350 versts in length. 

1. Areek-Kok-Ousiak. 

2. Boukai. 

3. Moulkai. 

4. Irgoul. 

5. Kok-Tchoungoul. 

6. Tchayouk. 

7. Koum-Tchoungoul. 


8. Tass-Noura. 

9. Saree-Tcheganak. 

10. Kok-Tchoungoul. 

11. Akeer. 

12. Kara-Outkoul. 

13. Irkibay. 


It is nearly 


XXIV. From Kasalinsk to Bokhara. 


Versts 


1. The lake Alimbay. 15 

2. The well Outabass. 18 

3. The well Irbay. 30 

4. Djanbaga. 18 

5. Saree-Boulak. 18 

6. The well Manass. 25 


Versts. 


7. Dtchaman-Tchaganok.... 14 

8. The well Kjara-Moui. 23 

9. The well Oulshir-Kasgan.. 46 

10. Irkibay. 26 

11. Mountain Zangar-Tubai... 10 

12. Keeseel-Kak. 45 




























COLONEL VENUKOFF’s ROUTES. 


403 


13. At the foot of Boukan. 

14. Yous-Koudouk. 

15. Kokpantash. 

16. Tanjareek. 

17. Tumenbay. 

18. Kinder lee. 


19. Djousalee-Say. 

20. Keeseel-Kak. 

21. Nasar-Bay. 

22. Kassatal. 

23. Bazaar Saree-Boul. 

24. The town Bokhara. 


This road was traversed by Ignatieff in the year 1858. There is not 
much fodder or fuel. It is about 700 versts in length. 


4 


THE END, 






. 










































































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Du Chaillu. Illustrated. 8vo, Cloth, $5 00 ; Half Calf, $7 25. 

DU CHAILLU’S ASHANGO LAND. A Journey to Ashango 
Land, and Further Penetration into Equatorial Africa. By P. B. 
Du Chaillu. Illustrated. 8vo, Cloth, $5 00; Half Calf, $7 25. 

DEXTER’S CONGREGATIONALISM. The Congregationalism 
of the Last Three Hundred Years, as Seen in its Literature: with 
Special Reference to certain Recondite, Neglected, or Disputed 
Passages. With a Bibliographical Appendix. By H. M. Dexter. 
Large 8vo, Cloth, $6 00. 

STANLEY’S THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT. Through 
the Dark Continent; or, The Sources of the Nile, Around the 
Great Lakes of Equatorial Africa, and Down the Livingstone 
River to the Atlantic Ocean. 149 Illustrations and 10 Maps. By 
H. M. Stanley. 2 vols., 8vo, Cloth, $10 00; Half Morocco, 
$15 00. 





SKETCH MAP 

SH E WINO 

THE ADVANCES OF RUSSIA 

CENTRAL ASIA. 

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Map of the 

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